


One of You

by MsChievous



Series: Belonging [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Bad Touch Chancellor, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Prompto Spoilers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Iggy is a hero, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, MT!Prompto, Poor Prompto, Prompto is a sunshine child, Spoilers for Chapter 13, Suicidal Thoughts, Vomiting, attempted self-harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2018-12-06 14:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 45,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11602413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsChievous/pseuds/MsChievous
Summary: Inspired by one ofKaciart'sdrawings.Of everything Noctis expected when he hit the MT in the face with the butt of his sword, this was not it.





	1. A New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kaciart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaciart/gifts).



> I know I promised people I was working on that torture fic for the kinkmeme, but then Kaciart had to go and post this beautiful artwork and I just fell in love. So, sorry. This is looking to be a long fic, but hopefully once that's done I'll finally start posting the torture one! orz

Unit 05953234 knew from the moment he got his orders that he was going to die. He had plenty of time to make peace with his oncoming demise as him and the rest of his platoon were carted away to some godsforsaken corner of the globe to try and kill the Lucian king for the hundredth time. And they would be the hundredth failure, he had no doubts about that.

His superiors talked, after all. Said that they were just throwing away money at this point, that the king and his entourage were too powerful. Even the mechs they occasionally used proved too bulky to be of any use. The assassins had better luck (or so he’s heard, perhaps that’s just a lie to boost morale), but he is not an assassin. He is one of thousands of millions of riflemen who was bred to be simple fodder.

But, then again, he wasn’t quite so ordinary as that. In fact, he was unique, the only Magitek Trooper who was still what he used to be: human. There had been more of them before, three others that he knew about, but they had all died in the recent attack on Insomnia. 05953234 was alone, as far as he knew.

He didn’t know why he was...different ... from the rest. One of the scientists had mumbled something about different reactions to the injections, some subjects retaining their humanity, but he had never gotten a clear answer. He was starting to think that even  _ they _ didn’t know why he was the way he was.

Just as he was about to drown in the hopelessness of the situation, he felt the pressure in the cabin drop and the rest of the units stood up. His heart hammered in his chest as he scrambled to obey, falling into formation in the back of the group. He didn’t know whether or not he was glad to be in the back. On the one hand, he got to live a few minutes more, but on the other hand, he would prolong his inevitable death for a few more minutes.

Instead of focusing on that, Unit 05953234 merely adjusted his grip on his gun and took a few centering breaths until he was as motionless as the troopers beside him. The dropship doors opened and a bracing wind whipped through the hangar. If he hadn’t been ready for it, he probably would have toppled over.

His fellow troopers jumped out of the bay doors, to their untimely demise waiting below, until it was finally his turn. He hesitated for a mere millisecond, but then quickly followed the other MTs, bracing for the impact. It jarred his legs and made his shins and knees burn, but he couldn’t let anyone know he was different. Thankfully a few of the scientists who knew what he actually was had taken pity and threw together a shabby force-distribution module into his armor, dispersing the brunt of his fall a bit more evenly over his body.

He hauled himself straight and immediately took in his surroundings. Of the fifteen troopers that were part of his platoon, five were already down, empty shells in the mid-afternoon sun.

Instead of wasting time on worrying about how long he was going to live, he brought up his gun, a Sagitta Rifle, and lined up a shot. His immediate thought was to take down the King. Well, not take down, he didn’t have any illusions about  _ that _ . But perhaps he could injure,  _ slow down _ , so that others could kill him. That way, if there were any other people like him out there, at least  _ they _ wouldn’t have to face was he was facing now.

Despite his best efforts, the king kept flitting to and fro in flashes of blue, taking out his fellow troopers effortlessly,  _ bantering _ with the big guy, who had six carcasses strewn around him, hacked into pieces with that giant sword of his. 

05953234 stepped back as he felt someone come up from the side, and a pair of daggers stabbed where he had been seconds before. 

Behind the impassive mask, his eyes widened and breath hitched. This man was tall as well, with a seemingly effortless grace that kept 05953234 on the defensive. But he was managing to stay alive. The tall man scored a few cuts on him, sure, but he was miraculously still alive. While everyone else was dead.

He gulped, finally realizing that it was now three on one. He was just postponing the inevitable. 

But before he could lower his gun and kneel down to accept his death, there was a blue crystalline flash, and the king was suddenly right in front of him. Then the king whirled around and something slammed into 05953234’s mask, hard enough to make him cry out and stumble to the ground, hard enough to crack whatever material the mask was made out of, hard enough to _ hurt _ .

Something wet and warm dribbled from his nose and he barely had time to think, “Oh shit my nose is broken” before the king was down beside him and had ripped the mask from his helmet.

The helmet clattered to the ground, and as if that broke the spell, 05953234 suddenly became very aware that  _ he was going to die _ . This kid, this king in front of him studying the mask in his hand was going to run him through with the sword clenched in his white-knuckled grip. A light clattering noise filled his ears and he realized that it was because he was shaking, his metal armor pieces chafing against one another.

He was so terrified. He thought he had made peace with his death but he was wrong. He didn’t want to die, he-

“Gods.” The king spat, getting to his feet and throwing the mask on the ground. “I can’t. Gods, I just can’t. Gladio, you do it.” He looked over at the big man with the big sword and then turned his back to 05953234.

05953234 looked at “Gladio”. He must have looked pathetic, curled up, blood dribbling from a probably broken nose, trembling like a loose piece of machinery.

“C’mon, Noct, I’m not gonna make this call.”

Were they… were they going to let him live? Hope bloomed almost painfully hard in his chest, and it felt weird. He wasn’t supposed to hope to live. He either fulfilled his mission and went back to base or died. That was how things worked. He didn’t know it was possible to fail his mission but live.

“Perhaps,” the tall man with the daggers stepped forward, adjusting a weird contraption over his eyes, “we can get information?” He asked pointedly, stealing a glance at 05953234. 

Immediately, he felt himself tense up. If the enemy wanted information, he had no doubt they were going to have to force it out of him, and he didn’t want to know what that would entail. 

Flashes of cold metal slabs, painful operations, a honeyed laugh, days in solitude, they all came crashing back to him in seconds, and he barely bit down a sob. Magitek soldiers don’t cry.

“Sounds good.” Gladio growled. His eyes bored holes into 05953234’s skull as he spoke, low and threatening, “But we can’t take it-him? Gah, whatever- to a hotel. Too dangerous.”

“There’s a haven fifteen minutes drive from here. We can rest there, and get what information we need.” The tall man said. He stooped down, more gently than the king, and his face isn’t screwed up in anger like the others. It’s kind of nice.

“Can you understand me?” He asked.

05953234 knew the punishment for tardy responses. They were etched into scars across his back, down his torso, all over his arms and legs. But he still couldn’t bring himself to nod his head. He was...he didn’t quite know what this feeling was. It was as if he was the armor from one of the disintegrated magitek troopers. Hollowed out, empty, terrified. Honestly, the feeling of emptiness almost scared him more than the three men staring him down.

Almost.

“Doesn’t look like it,” The king scoffed, “Guess we won’t get much info out of him.” 

“Perhaps. But there are many ways to find out what we wish to know.”

05953234 didn’t like the sound of that. He didn’t like that at all.

 

* * *

 

The second 05953234 stepped into the car door, he realized that his entire worldview was entirely fucked. For one thing, this car is almost nothing like the cars back in Niflheim. While Niff cars are boxy and tank-like, this car was  sleek, shiny, and kinda pretty. Plus, there was no storage compartment for him to sit in. He half-expected them to shove him in the trunk, since it was the closest thing they had, but instead, the tall man, whom the others called “Ignis” and “Iggy” ushered him to the front seat. “To keep an eye on him.” He told the others. Gladio snorted and shifted seats with Noctis.

The ride wasn’t even quiet, like he was used to. Sure, the engine was a soft purr in the background, but there was something else, a rhythmic series of noises coming from the front of the car. It almost made him smile.

Instead, he gripped his pants legs in tight fists, trying to calm his quivering. He could feel Gladio’s eyes on him, never leaving his back. He knew that if he even shifted the wrong way, the big man would leap into action and probably decapitate him.

So he locked his knees and elbows and ducked his head. He didn’t know what else to do. He was given no protocols for how to proceed in situations like this. In fact, he didn’t have very many protocols: Obey your commanding officer above all else, Fight until victory or death, Return to base after your mission. 

He  _ did _ obey his commanding officer. He got onto the dropship though he knew he was going to die. He followed the other troopers to the ground. He fought against the Lucian king and his friends. 

But he couldn’t obey the second or third protocols. He wasn’t victorious. The Lucians had soundly defeated his entire platoon without breaking a sweat. So he had  _ tried  _ to fight until his death, but the three men didn’t kill him. And they weren’t allowing his to return to his base. In fact, they were very pointedly driving  _ away  _ from the closest base.

He didn’t know what to do if he wasn’t following his protocols. He didn’t have a protocol for that.

 

* * *

 

As it turns out, a “haven” is just a lump of rock that glows blue.

To be fair, that’s underselling it somewhat. Ghostly blue whisps of what 05953234 assumed was magic wafted from glowing blue runestones etched into the solid rock. 

But despite how pretty it looked from a distance, being up close and personal with it made him feel a little sick. He stumbled up the path to the flat surface where they’d no doubt be resting, and Gladio grabbed his bicep in a meaty hand, tugging him along brusquely. 

It wasn’t a gentle, guiding hand, either. It was rough and nearly dislocated his shoulder. He barely bit down a yelp as he was dragged along. 

Finally, Gladio let him go and he fell to the ground like a puppet whose strings have just been cut. The movement jostled his aching nose, and this time he wasn’t able to swallow a small whimper.

He slapped a hand against his mouth, looking down at the ground as if it would swallow him up.

But he had no such luck, as Ignis squatted next to him. “Does that nose still hurt?” He asked, not  _ un _ kindly. 

05953234 just looked away. They didn’t seem to be punishing him for not speaking up, seemed to think he couldn’t even understand them. So he just let them believe that.

But it seemed like Ignis wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily. A hand cupped under his chin and forced his gaze into Ignis’. 

“Hold still, I’ll make it better.” 

Ignis reached forward with the hand not keeping 05953234’s face still, hand dancing uncomfortably close to the broken nose. 05953234 tried to jerk away, but Ignis’ grip was strong, “Keep still, it will only hurt for a moment,” He said.

“Give it up, Specs. Looks like he just wants to be let alone, so leave him be.”

“Surely you’re not so cruel as to leave him without treatment, Noct?” Ignis’ voice was short and clipped, and he straightened to give the king a meaningful look that 05953234 can’t quite decipher.

“His people killed my father, Gladio’s father, your  _ uncle _ ” The king yelled, pointing an accusing finger in his direction, “And you’re talking to  _ me _ about cruelty? I’m not the person who used a cease-fire as a ruse to invade another kingdom!”

A long silence stretched out, broken by a sigh from Ignis, “We don’t know for sure he was a part of the attack on Insomnia,” He started, holding up a hand for silence when the king started to interrupt, “And even if he was, he  _ certainly _ didn’t make the decision to invade. While I don’t wish to make friends with him, I refuse to be heartless.”

Ignis must have won the argument, because Noct turned on his heel and stalked to where Gladio was putting up the tent. Again, he caught 05953234’s face in one hand and reached towards his nose with the other. 

Hope dared to bloom in 05953234’s chest. Was Ignis actually going to make him feel better? It didn’t make any sense, why an enemy would want to help him, but Ignis’ hands were gentle around his chin, and his face was soft. So he allowed Ignis to ghost his fingers gently along the cartilage. 

“Gladio, hand me a potion if you will?”

“Are we really going to waste potions on  _ him _ ?” Gladio asked, handing Ignis a glass bottle filled with a faintly glowing blue liquid.

“It’s a potion. They’re hardly the most expensive things we ever buy,” Ignis replied, “besides, it’s hard for a broken nose to heal properly even with medical attention. A potion should heal it nicely, albeit a little crooked.” Ignis unstoppered the cork with his teeth, then poured half of the contents across 05953234’s nose.

Almost immediately, he felt a wave of relief as the cartilage in his nose shifted back into shape. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but the pain had faded to a dull ache, and breathing through it wasn’t a chore. 

Ignis pressed lightly against the side of 05953234’s nose, frowning at the light gasp and attempt to scramble away it elicited. But instead of punishing him for squirming, for accepting aid from an enemy, Ignis simply emptied the rest of the glowing bottle onto his nose. Something else shifted, and suddenly, the pain was gone, leaving little more than a lingering ache that would go away in a few hours.

They… they healed him? Why would they do that? Was it only so the pain of his torture would be magnified? 

Ignis pressed again, seemingly satisfied with how his nose had healed, then stood to face the others. “Gladio, fetch the rope, will you? Now that our guest is tended to, I’ll feel better if he’s restrained.”

And once again, panic coursed through him. They were going to tie him up, tie him down, take a scalpel to his skin and cut it open to find out how he ticks, crush his bones and heal them and crush them again. He didn’t want to be hurt anymore. He just wanted to die. He was just supposed to die. Why wouldn’t they just  _ kill  _ him already?

A muffled sob escaped 05953234’s throat as Ignis knotted his hands behind his back.


	2. Different Views

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis, Ignis, and Gladio come across a group of MTs, but Noctis quickly notices one of them is a little... different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty excited about this fic! It's gotten some nice attention (especially considering I've been on something of a hiatus recently orz), and I have a super clear idea of what is going to happen! Thankfully, by 7:15 tomorrow, I will be done with my summer class and able to get cracking on more fics because oh god do I have a backlog.

“Noct!” Gladio called, “Overhead!” 

Noctis groaned, already knowing where this was headed. Up above them, an Imperial dropship hummed closer and closer. “Do we have to? Can’t we just, like, drive past them?” But Ignis was already stopping.

“Unfortunately,” his advisor sighed, putting the car into park and turning it off, “The ship seems to be blocking our path. We’d best make quick work of this if we wish to make it to a motel in time.”

“Then let’s get going!” Noctis practically vaulted out of his seat, Engine Blade crackling into his waiting hand. Already, the dropship doors were opening and a wave of MTs came pouring out. He warped to one, then sliced down, killing it immediately before warping back from an incoming shot. He jerked to the side, then took down the next closest soldier as Ignis’ daggers thudded into a nearby MT and Gladio’s sword cleaved two troopers in two. 

The last MTs weren’t even out of the ship yet and almost a third of them were already gone. This certainly wouldn’t take long.

Noctis warped back to give himself a quick breather, keeping an eye on the MT soldiers. The last one had just jumped down from the ship as it quickly flew away, but something about that last soldier seemed… off. The MTs he was used to were jerky, robotic, but this one was fluid, almost… _ human _ . 

He caught a glimpse of the weird soldier raising his rifle and quickly warped back into the fray. He took down another two soldiers, turning to Gladio. “How many you got, Gladio?”

“Six. You?”

Noctis just  _ tsked _ as he took down a fourth soldier. 

“I guess that means you get the shower last.” Gladio snorted, “Ig’s going after the last one. Maybe you can get him first?”

Noctis narrowed his eyes. There was still something off about the way the soldier moved, no doubt Ignis could see it too. He warped close, almost within kissing distance of that eerie mask before he turned on his heel and slammed the butt of his sword hilt into the troopers stupid nose.

There was a squawking noise, like a blender chopping up an old radio, and the MT was slammed into the ground. Its mask was cracked around the nose, and there was the distinct sound of someone hyperventilating over mechanical whirring.

He knelt on the ground, holding his sword ready in one hand, prying the mask off with the other. The trooper’s helmet clattered to the ground and the trooper cringed at the sound. 

He looked decidedly  _ human _ , with blonde hair stuck up at odd angles thanks to the helmet. Freckles speckled across his cheeks and nose, which was was squashed, blood dribbling down, and he was whimpering. Overall, he just looked pathetic, like a small child thrown into the middle of a war. He compared that face to the mask in his hand. Even with the ugly crack, the face was impassive, borderline serene.

His grip on his sword tightened. He wanted to slash down, open a wound on this kid’s chest. Wanted to run him through, feel the blond’s blood on his hands. But the kid in front of him was shaking so hard his armor rattled and was making such  _ human _ noises, such a far cry from the mechanical whirring he was used to, that it made Noctis sick to his stomach.

“Gods…”He got to his feet with a grunt, letting the mask drop to the ground behind him, “I can’t. Gods, I just can’t.” His hands shook as he forced them into fists. “Gladio, you do it.”

“C’mon, Noct, I’m not gonna make this call.” Gladio dropped his greatsword back into the ether and crossed his arms, stealing a glance at the shivering scrap of apparent human in front of them.

Then Ignis stepped forward, adjusting his glasses meaningfully. “Perhaps we can get information?” He suggested, glancing over at the blond. The boy scrunched his eyes closed, shrinking away from the three of them.

“Sounds good,” Gladio growled, “But we can’t take it-him? Gah, whatever- to the motel. Too dangerous.” 

“There’s a haven fifteen minutes drive from here,” Ignis replied, stepping closer to the blond, “We can rest there, and get what information we need.” Then he bent down gently, trying to meet the blond’s skittish gaze. “Can you understand me?” He asked levelly.

The only response was the blond’s panting breaths and terrified face.

“Doesn’t look like it. Guess we won’t get much info out of him.” Noctis huffed. He hated the look on the kid’s face, hated how damn  _ scared _ he was, hated the kid just for being an Imperial, hated that  _ this _ might have been what was below all those MTs that he slaughtered.

 

* * *

 

They finally arrived at the haven fifteen minutes later, as Ignis predicted. Noctis let the two of them deal with their “guest” as he quickly absorbed the elemental energies around the campsite. By the time he got back, Ignis was hunched over the blond, gripping his chin in a gloved hand despite the blond’s attempts to get away.

“Keep still, it will only hurt for a moment.” Ignis furrowed his brows at how the blond tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

“Give it up, Specs.” Noctis spat as he walked up behind them, “Looks like he just wants to be let alone, so leave him be.” 

Ignis straightened, fixing him with a disappointed look. “Surely you’re not so cruel as to leave him without treatment, Noct?”

Righteous anger burned his insides at Ignis’s words. “ _ His _ people killed my father, Gladio’s father, your  _ uncle _ ,” he jerked his finger towards their captive to keep from punching Ignis in his stupid, perfect  _ face _ , “And you’re talking to  _ me _ about cruelty?” His face contorted in rage and he kicked a bit of loose rock, shooting it out over the edge of the haven, “I’m not the person who used a cease-fire as a ruse to invade another kingdom!” He was breathing hard now, trying his hardest not to let his anger overwhelm him.

There were a few beats in which Ignis took a few centering breaths, ever the font of calm wisdom. “We don’t know for sure he was part of the attack on Insomnia,” Before Noctis could interject that it didn’t fucking  _ matter _ , his people were still the ones who took his father and his home from him, Ignis continued, “And even if he was, he  _ certainly _ didn’t make the decision to invade. While I don’t wish to make friends with him, I refuse to be heartless.”

Instead of saying something stupid that he’d regret later, Noctis turned on his heel and stalked over to Gladio. He seemed livid about having the kid here too. “You need help?” He asked, though it was quite obvious that Gladio was already hammering in the last of the posts.

“Nah, princess,” Gladio teased. “You’re just in time to do no work.”

“Perfect.” Noctis shot back with a slight grin. “I’ll-

“Gladio, hand me a potion if you will?” Ignis cut Noctis’ next words off.

Gladio glanced at Noctis before getting to his feet. “Are we really going to waste potions on  _ him _ ?” Gladio sounded reluctant, but held out a curative anyway. A curative that  _ Noctis _ made for his  _ friends _ , not for this Imperial rat. But instead of protesting, he stormed into the mostly set up tent and popped in his earbuds, tuning out Ignis’s defense.

The blond looked pretty young, and Noctis  _ did _ break his nose, in all fairness. Besides, a potion took almost no energy to make. 

He opened his game of King’s Knight and tried not to focus on anything not happening outside his immediate area. His attempts were thwarted within the hour when Gladio unzipped the tent door and motioned for him to take out his earbuds.

“Iggy’s got dinner ready, if you’re hungry.”

Noctis groaned as he got to his feet and followed Gladio towards the campfire. He noticed with mild surprise that the blond was now sitting a good distance away, hands tied behind his back. Then his attention was jerked back to Ignis as the advisor handed him a bowl of soup.

Noctis sat in the folding chair facing away from their prisoner, taking his time savoring Ignis’ new recipe. 

“We need to discuss what we’re going to do with him,” Ignis said in a low voice.

“Just leave him here. The Empire’ll find him soon enough. Bring him back where he belongs.” Gladio shrugged.

“I’m of the opinion that the Empire is the reason he’s so...skittish. It’s apparent that he’s human, doesn’t he deserve human decency?” Ignis interjected.

“Why the hell are you on  _ his _ side, Ignis? I thought you were  _ my _ advisor!” Noct snarled, clenching his bowl in white-knuckled fists. He couldn’t believe that the man who had been at his side for as long as he could remember was suddenly siding with… with a fucking  _ Niff _ !

“Highness,” Ignis sighed, infusing that one word with a lifetime’s worth of exasperation, “I am not “on his side”. I am on the side of human decency. Yes, he is an Imperial soldier. And yes, Imperial soldiers tore down Insomnia and killed those we loved. But you need to look past your fury to see that this child is just as much a victim of the Empire as we are.”

Noctis shot to his feet, starting to search around the campsite feverishly. “Where is it?” He mumbled, “Gods, I can’t find it! Where is it?”

Perplexed by Noctis’ sudden change in topic, Ignis asked, “What are you looking for? Perhaps I can help-”

“I’m looking for the fucks I give, Ignis! I can’t seem to find any, no matter how hard I- Oh! Wait!” He gasped over-dramatically, pointing towards the sky, “There goes my last one! It’s flying away as we speak!” His expression darkened as he turned back to Ignis pointedly.

Ignis simply sighed. “You need to realize that this anger against the Empire you’re feeling shouldn’t be directed at him. Or me.”

“I know!” Noctis yelled, flinging his hands in the air, “Gods, I  _ know _ ! I just-” He grit his teeth, floundering for the right words that would explain his anger, his sadness, his sense of loss, but he came up empty. Instead he just scoffed, “I know.”

Ignis nodded. “Perhaps a good night’s sleep will help calm you down?” He suggested. 

“Good idea,” Noctis replied shortly. “Good night.”

 

* * *

 

“Tell me, Gladio, you’ve been rather silent on my treatment of our prisoner.”

Gladio shrugged. “As long as he doesn’t pose any danger to Noct, I don’t really care how he’s treated.”

“Hm,” Ignis hummed, “And do you blame him for the fall of Insomnia?”

“Nah. He’s just a kid. He was probably just roped into joining the military. But that doesn’t mean I’m comfortable keeping him around like this,” He added quickly. “Even if he is a kid, he’s an Imperial soldier. He’s still a risk.”

Nodding, Ignis replied, “And I agree, thus why he’s tied up right now, instead of sitting in a chair with us. I simply wish that Noctis could understand why I’m doing what I’m doing.”

“He will, in time,” Gladio assured him, “In a lot of time.”

Ignis gave a small smile before heaving himself to his feet. “I suppose our friend over there will be feeling rather hungry.” He said, gathering a clean bowl and scooping some soup into it.

As he came closer, the blond scooted away slightly until he came to the edge of the haven. For a second, Ignis thought he would try to throw himself right off for the edge, but then he clenched his fists and stopped. 

In turn, Ignis stooped to the ground, placing the bowl in front of him. “Here’s some food. I’ll untie you while you eat. Okay?” He reached out, but the blond just jerked to the side with a soft whimper.

Instead of fighting to untie him, Ignis spooned up some soup and held it out to the blond’s mouth. “Come, now,” Ignis soothed as he started trembling, “It’s just fo-”

Before Ignis could get the last syllable out, the blond jerked his shoulder, knocking the spoon to the ground. Ignis looked from the spoon to the blond, taking in the ragged breathing and wary eyes. 

He furrowed his brows and tried again, perhaps a bit too forcefully. The blond let out a sound somewhere between a yelp and a scream, like something a feral animal would make, and snapped his teeth shut with a loud  _ click _ . Luckily, Ignis’ reflexes were fast enough to avoid getting bit. He whirled around, meeting Gladio’s eye, noting that he had summoned his sword and jumped to his feet.

“That’s quite alright, Gladio. I believe I just pushed him a little too hard.” Then he knelt beside the blond, “It’s obvious you’re not hungry, so I won’t force you to eat. But I’ll leave this here just in case you get hungry.”

“You remember he can’t understand a damn thing, right?” Gladio was sitting again, peering out over his newest novel.

“Yes, I remember. I merely hope that a calm voice will soothe him. He seems rather agitable. It’s putting me on edge.”

“Could be all the Ebony you drink.” Gladio suggested.

“Or maybe you could keep you mouth shut? Unless you wish to eat canned beans for the rest of the trip?” Ignis sat in the chair next to Gladio, giving him a pointed glare over the tops of his glasses.

Gladio laughed, holding up his hands in mock surrender, “You got me there, Ig.”

“This does leave us with a quandary, though.”

“Oh? And what quandary is that?”

Ignis cut his eyes over to where the blond was curling in on himself, muttering something unintelligible. “Do we let him in the tent or not?”

“Not,” Gladio didn’t even hesitate. “Even if he was completely hog-tied, I wouldn’t let him within twenty feet of Noct when we’re all sleeping.”

“Fair. I suppose he’ll have to make do with the haven floor.”

“If you give him a pillow and a blanket, that might make him more comfortable.”

“I am not ready to be  _ that _ giving,” Ignis sighed. “The night’s warm enough, and we don’t have any pillows to spare.”

Gladio gave a small smile, heaving himself to his feet. “You can be a real bastard sometimes.”

“That is but one of my many charms, I’m sure you’ll agree.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, hey, if anyone's interested, for my final project for my summer class, we have to re-write a scene from our favorite work of fiction (of course I chose ffxv), record ourselves and have some kind of visual. So once it's done (It's due monday), Imma post in on Tumblr so have a look-see [here](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/stuck-in-ffxv-hell).
> 
> Ps it's a spanish project, so it will all be in spanish, but I might be able to make subtitles. And the pictures are rather pretty, if I do say so myself.


	3. Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A seemingly innocuous statement redefines 05953234 in the others' eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? I'm updating regularly again? It must be the apocalypse! 
> 
> Or just boredom. Lol, either way, I hope you enjoy!

05953234 woke up to a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. There was the barest hint of sun peeking over the hills, throwing streaks of purples and oranges into the sky. He stared at the beautiful colors. Back in Gralea, they were surrounded by mountains, so by the time the sun was high enough to peek over the peaks, it was nearly nine, far past time for a sunrise.

His stomach clenched painfully again. It felt like something was crawling under his skin, like the light from the haven runes were burning into his retinas. He wobbled into a sitting position, trying to ignore the bowl of soup in front of him. The top had coagulated, but it still looked so  _ good _ , and he was so  _ hungry _ , but he didn’t dare eat anything they gave him. He didn’t know how far these Lucians would go to get rid of him. With how intently Ignis tried to feed him, there  _ had _ to be something bad in there.

He stayed huddled against the sick feeling in his stomach as the sun rose higher, tingeing the clouds pink and yellow. It really was beautiful.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a quiet zipping noise. He whirled his head towards the tent, where Ignis was just clambering out the opening. He locked eyes with 05953234, something like surprise flashing across his face.

“You’re up early,” he said, moving towards the foldable table next to the fire.

05953234 just skittered his eyes to the side and avoided the other man’s gaze.

“Of course. Utter silence it is then.”

True to his word, Ignis was quiet, only breaking the silence with the sound of his cooking. The sounds were tantalizing enough, but the smells that wafted over to him were almost too much. It smelled so good, and he was so hungry that he accidentally let out a little whimper, staring a little too longingly at the pan where thin cakes were cooking.

Ignis turned around, quirking an eyebrow. “What was that?”

And, of course, 05953234’s stomach chose that exact moment to let out a loud growling noise. His breath hitched and he curled up tighter on himself, trying to convince his stomach,  _ Yes this is what full feels like now. Deal with it _ . 

“Hungry, now, are we? Well, you’d best be patient. It won’t be ready for at least half an hour.”

05953234 glanced away quickly. Gods, his body refused to work with him! It refused to get more than a few hours of sleep, it refused to be satisfied with no food or water, it refused to get rid of the kinks in his arm and spine that came with the few hours of sleep he  _ did _ manage to get that night.

He was just a fucking failure.

 

* * *

 

Gladio stumbled out of the tent sometime later and caught a glimpse of 05953234 sitting cross-legged at the far edge of the haven. “How early did he get up?” He asked Ignis.

“He was awake when I got up. Was he asleep when you went to bed?”

“No. Guess the little princess didn’t get much sleep without a pillow or blanket, eh, Iggy?”

05953234 watched Ignis and Gladio exchange playful banter, just like when they fought together against his friends. The thought turned his stomach and he almost retched, managing to keep it to a soft groaning noise. They didn’t seem to be punishing him for making noises and it was so  _ hard _ to keep quiet now that he was so scared.

“What’s with him?” Gladio asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“He’s hungry. I guess he’s now regretting turning his nose up at the soup.”

He was  _ definitely _ regretting turning his nose up at the soup. And he was already regretting having to turn his nose up at whatever the hell Ignis was cooking because by the Astrals did it smell amazing.

Gladio shrugged, tossing another glance at him before muttering something about going on a run to Ignis and taking off.

Silence once again fell across the campsite, and 05953234 shifted his bonds slightly trying to alleviate the awkward pressure on his wrists, but he only ended up making it worse. Everything hurt and ached and he was sick and hungry and he just wanted these guys to get it over with already. Maybe if he told them everything he knew, they would kill him quickly?

Before he knew it, he was crying. He caught himself just as a few tears fell, and he bit his bottom lip hard to will the sadness away, but no such luck. Instead, the tears fell harder, until it became almost impossible to hide. His armor clanked together as his shoulders shook with the almost inaudible sobs.

“Come now, you need to breathe,” Ignis’ voice was barely a whisper, right next to his ear, and 05953234 let out a startled squeak. Then Ignis’ hand was on his back, rubbing calming circles over his armor. 

05953234 quickly hiccuped to a stop, bringing his knees to his chest and hiding his head between them, shifting away from the other man’s comfort.

Ignis sighed, then stood up, walking back to the folding table. He stopped by the cooler near the entrance to the tent and eased out a slim black can, popping it open and taking a long gulp.

Slowly, 05953234’s breath hitched into a steadier rhythm, and he could breathe more easily. By the time his breathing and heart rate had resumed its usual rhythm, Gladio had returned from wherever he went to and eased himself into one of the folding chairs facing 05953234.

“Gladio,” Ignis spoke up some time later, “Why don’t you wake up Noct and untie our guest?”

With a grunt, Gladio barged into the tent, and after a minute, ended up dragging the king of Lucis out of the tent by his ankle.

“Fuck off, Gladio!” the king growled, lazily kicking at the hand wrapped around his ankle with his free leg, “‘M up. Leggo…”

This was not the kind of king 05953234 had expected. From the way the scientists spoke, a king was dignified, ruled his people with an iron fist and no mercy, strong, capable. He very pointedly did _ not  _ whine when woken up too early.

It was a struggle to keep back a snort of laughter at their antics, but he reminded himself they were not doing this for his amusement. They hated him. They  _ should hate  _ him. 

But here Gladio was, untying his wrists with… not quite  _ gentle _ tugs, but not quite rough either. It was… It was kinda nice. Then, a plate of something warm, round, and delicious was placed in front of him. He scrabbled away from the temptation. Because, oh  _ Six _ did he want just a  _ bite _ of that, but he didn’t want to risk it. Although…. Maybe whatever poison they put in there would kill him quickly, or maybe if he just took a bite, he wouldn’t ingest enough poison, or maybe the starscourge coursing through his veins would protect him.

But he shut down those thoughts quickly. No. He couldn’t eat anything, couldn’t drink anything unless he knew they hadn’t tampered with it. Maybe they didn’t poison it, but infused it with some magic that would make him susceptible to suggestion. They could get him to tell them anything,  _ do _ anything. They-

“Hey, Freckles, you can eat that.”

05953234’s head snapped up to the Lucian king, who had just spoken. 

“Are we calling him “Freckles” now?” Gladio asked, leaning towards the king to nudge him in the ribs.

“I dunno, he doesn’t have a name, and it’d be easier to give him a name,” The king shrugged. “But I don’t think he’s hungry. Or maybe MT’s don’t eat?”

“I’m afraid I couldn’t hazard a guess. He seems to be drawn to food, I notice him watching me while I cook, and I could have sworn I heard his stomach growling a few hours ago, but I can’t be sure.” Ignis sighed, watching 05953234 with a piercing gaze.

“Whatever. If he doesn’t want to eat, he’ll just starve.”

“I had hoped to avoid that option, but that seems the direction he wishes to go. Though, I am partially tempted just to shove it down that damn throat of his,” Ignis looked back to the king and sighed, “But we can save that for another day. We really must pick up some hunts. We are running rather low on curatives.”

“So what should we do with Freckles here, then? Take him with us? Leave him here?” Gladio asked.

Ignis paused thoughtfully. “We should take him with us, but keep him tied up in the car while we fight.” He finally decided.

Everyone else seemed to agree with him, and soon 05953234 was hauled to his feet and his hands were tied in front of him. Gladio kept a firm, borderline crushing grip on his upper arm, almost certainly  _ trying _ to keep 05953234 from finding his balance.

He was quickly ushered into the front of the car again, and without more than a few words, they were speeding off towards a “hunt”, as Ignis had called it. He vaguely wondered what one of those things was, but knew better than to ask. He would just have to see when they got there.

 

* * *

 

Apparently, a “hunt” was wandering around the Leiden countryside just off of a dirt road. The king was peering closely at a sheet of paper, taking a few steps in one direction, then turning around in confusion. Finally, he just shoved the paper into Ignis’ hands. “Here, Specs. I can’t read this damn thing. Which direction are we going?”

Ignis adjusted those weird glass things over his eyes and sighed. It took him a moment to orient himself, but eventually, he beckoned them further away from the car.

05953234 watched them grow smaller, their voices muffling to the point that he couldn’t hear them from the inside of the car. He vaguely considered trying to escape now, but what was the point? He had no clue what he should be doing now that he was alive and couldn’t return to base. He might as well follow these three around. Even if they hated him. Even if they wanted to kill him. They still treated him really nice, better than anyone else before. Especially Ignis. Ignis was a very nice man.

There was a loud roaring that made him jump. His heart pounded in his chest as he realized that the sound came from the direction the king and his entourage came from. What would happen to him if whatever made that sound killed all three of them? Would he be able to get out of the car? Would he be stuck here until he died? Would someone else find him and take care of him?

But before his imagination could get the better of him, he saw the group walking towards the car again. They were talking amongst themselves jovially, and Ignis was clutching a claw of some large animal in a gloved hand. 

“...-ad a good eye there, Iggy, noticing that it was weak to electricity,” the king was saying as the three of them stepped into car, “It keeled over pretty quick after it got a taste of that yummy Lucian magic, eh?”

“Yes, it was quite the successful team effort, wasn’t it?” Ignis said, starting the car and starting to pull away. “I suppose we’ll have to turn in the hunt and restock our pantry. We’re running dangerously low on some necessities.”

“Oh no, we won’t be able to have those Long Bone Steaks,” The king mocked, “It’s gonna be the end of the world!

“You laugh now, but when we’re eating cheap pizza and toast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you’ll surely be singing a different tune.”

 

* * *

 

They were back at the camp. Gladio was at the far edge, sharpening his giant sword (seriously, it was practically as big as  _ he _ was). The king was curled up in one of the folding chairs, probably sleeping. 05953234 had come to the realization that the king of Lucis was no more than a sleep-deprived teenager. 

“Noct.” Ignis’ voice jolted him out of his thoughts, “Would you mind grabbing me an Ebony? My hands are rather full at the moment.”

There was a beat, and 05953234 realized that no one was going to help Ignis. Why was no one helping Ignis? He was so nice! Maybe  _ he _ could help. Ebony… that was that black can that Ignis really liked. The black can in their cooler, over there.

Ignis sighed, “Never mind. I see you’re busy.”

Quietly, so as not to disturb anyone, 05953234 slowly got to his feet and shuffled over towards the cooler by the tent. He fiddled with the lid for a few seconds, trying to figure out how to get it open. When he finally succeeded, he carefully drew out one of the slim black cans and padded over to Ignis. 

Ignis had his back to 05953234, and seemed none the wiser to his presence. He froze. How could he get Ignis’ attention that wouldn’t spark his ire? Clearing his throat? No too noisy. Tap his shoulder? No, too casual. His hand was half-reached out towards Ignis, and he was still trying to figure out how to get the other’s attention when Ignis stepped back slightly, so that 05953234’s hand brushed his back with more force than intended.

With a yelp, 05953234 snatched his hand back, heart pounding. Would Ignis punish him for bumping into him? 

“Oh, sorry....Freckles...I apologize.”

Ignis...was apologizing? 

“Hm, what’ve you got there?” Ignis glanced at what 05953234 had clenched in his hand, then he stopped stirring his pot. “Is that Ebony?”

With a nervous nod, 05953234 held out the can, keeping his eyes trained on the ground.

“You can understand us?”

Oh  _ shit _ , he had forgot about that. Oh well, they were bound to find out sooner or later. Hopefully now they’d get on with the torture-and-death part of his capture. He nodded, biting his bottom lip.

“Well, thank you for the Ebony. I appreciate it.”

05953234 gave him a short nod, then made a beeline back to his spot, sitting down and hugging his knees to his chest.


	4. A Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little out of hand and 05953234 gets caught in the crossfires.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay... this one is really long???? I'm sorry??????
> 
> Not really, but for some reason, this story is just dragging itself out in a weird way? Not much has really happened but this chapter is like 8 pages??? 8 full pages??? And I'm?? so???? confused????????
> 
> Normally my chapters are like 3-4 pages but this???? just??? keeps???? going??????
> 
> Can you tell I don't know what's happening?
> 
> So, yeah, enjoy!

Ignis sipped his Ebony thoughtfully, throwing a glance at Freckles every now and then. He was an enigma that refused to be solved. At first, due to his fearful reactions to everything that was said, despite how innocuous it was, they thought he couldn’t understand what they were saying. But now it was painfully obvious that he definitely  _ could _ understand them, he was simply just  _ terrified _ of them.

Ignis didn’t blame him. They were definitely a terrifying bunch. But now he was left wondering why the boy wouldn’t eat. Because he wouldn’t. He was sitting in his spot with a plate of Noct’s favorite rice bowl in front of him, but he wasn’t even looking at it. In fact, he had very pointedly turned away when it was placed in front of him.

Despite the fact that this was an Imperial soldier, Ignis felt a twist of worry, deep in his gut. They had to get him to eat  _ something _ , he wasn’t going to last long at this rate.

_ Maybe he doesn’t want to last long _ Ignis tried very hard not to think. Instead, he knelt down, spoon in hand to force feed him if it became necessary.

“Come now, you need to eat!” He huffed in exasperation, “Don’t you?”

The blond made no move to answer his query, only aggravating Ignis more.

“I know you can understand me, do you need to eat or don’t you? If you don’t, I won’t waste any food on you.”

A noncommittal shrug was his only answer. Finally, Ignis just gave up, stalking away to sit beside Noctis.

“He’s making your mother hen senses go off, is he?” Noctis teased through a mouthful of rice. “‘Quick! I need to mother this child!’” He mocked, before catching a glimpse of Ignis’ face and smoothing out his expression.

“I fear that something is wrong. I’m almost  _ positive _ he’s hungry, but he just won’t eat, and I don’t know why!” Ignis growled in exasperation. “I don’t  _ like _ not knowing.”

“Yeah, no, I get it. Maybe he’s just a picky eater?” Noctis suggested.

“Takes one to know one,” Gladio interjected, shooting Noctis a playful smirk.

“Oh, shove off, Gladio,” Noctis stuck his tongue out. “All I’m saying is maybe he just doesn’t like the food you’re serving him.”

Ignis rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Perhaps… If only our guest would speak up. Have either of you heard him speak?”

“Nah,” Noctis said, “I think he might be mute or something.”

“I haven’t either,” Gladio put in.

Humming thoughtfully, Ignis steepled his fingers. “He can make noises, at the very least, so not completely mute. It is rather odd, but perhaps we can find other methods of communication,” he suggested.

 

* * *

 

Freckles was still awake when Ignis went to bed, probably around ten, and was up when Ignis woke up, just at the crack of sunrise.

“Sleep well?” He asked.

Freckles just shrugged again, in that way of his, shifting his arms slightly, as if the bonds were bothering him. 

“Would you like me to remove those for you? I trust you won’t try to murder one of us?” Ignis meant it playfully, but Freckles nodded so forcefully, the look in his eye so desperate and  _ wild _ , and he instantly felt bad. “Alright then, stay still, and it won’t hurt. Promise.”

Immediately, Freckles went rigid, and Ignis wasn’t even sure the kid was breathing. A part of him knew that forcing the kid to act naturally wasn’t going to work, he just needed to get it done with. So Ignis pulled apart the knots with deft fingers.

A  _ whimper _ spilled from Freckles’ mouth as his arms flew to wrap around his torso. 

“Please, Freckles, you need to eat. You’re not going to last long at this rate.” Ignis reached out a comforting hand, but quickly drew it back when Freckles drew away sharply. “Do you not like the food I’m cooking?”

Freckles shrugged again, skittering his eyes across the ground and away from Ignis.

“Would you prefer other foods?” 

Another shallow shrug.

“Perhaps soup instead?”

Shrug.

“By the Astrals,” Ignis muttered, getting to his feet. Here he was, trying to be helpful, trying to keep  _ the enemy _ from dying, and that enemy wasn’t doing a very job at staying alive. “If you don’t eat by dinner time, I’m going to  _ make _ you eat. Understand?”

There was a beat of silence, filled only by Freckles’ rapid breathing. Slowly, he started to nod.

“Good,” Ignis huffed, turning to get started on breakfast. He’ll make oatmeal for Freckles, and perhaps French toast for the rest of them.

He was about halfway through cooking the toast when Gladio stumbled out of the tent and on one of his runs as usual. He stole an apple on his way out, ducking under a swat from Ignis as he cackled. 

Gladio seemed to have his runs timed out impeccably, because he arrived back at camp, sweaty and grinning, just as Ignis was finishing up the meal. He took it upon himself to wake Noctis up, and miraculously didn’t have to drag His Majesty out of bed this morning. Instead, Noctis padded out after him, covering a large yawn with one hand.

“Wha’s fer breakfast?” He asked, settling himself in one of the folding chairs.

“French toast,” Ignis replied simply. “And stop slouching. Here.” He handed Noctis a plate of French toast, then Gladio. Before taking his own plate and sitting in the unoccupied chair, Ignis picked up a bowl of oatmeal, seasoned with honey and cinnamon, and set it down in front of Freckles.

“Let me untie you, okay?” He asked, holding out a gentle, non threatening hand. 

After a pause, Freckles shifted, allowing Ignis better leverage to carefully undo the knots. He spent a solid minute at the task. Never let it be said that Gladio did anything half-assed.

Finally, Freckles’ arms were back in front of his body, and he was staring down the bowl of oatmeal as if it had killed his entire family.

“Come on, just a bite?” Ignis coaxed, pushing the bowl ever so slightly closer to Freckles’ knees.

Freckles shook his head. 

“Aren’t you hungry?” 

No response.

Ignis furrowed his brow. Freckles was looking off-kilter. His eyes seemed perpetually dazed, his hair fell limply around his face, and his skin was pale and sallow. It was painfully obvious that he needed to eat, but he just…  _ didn’t _ .

“Is oatmeal not to your taste?” He tried.

Again, no response.

“Very well. I intend to keep my earlier promise, so you are aware. It would be better for all parties involved if i didn’t have to use force, but I won’t hesitate to do it if it means keeping you alive.”

Freckles furrowed his eyebrows, then ducked his head down, crossing his arms tightly over his torso. 

Ignis sighed.  _ He’s more stubborn than Noctis. _

 

* * *

 

“Aren’t we just gonna leave the kid in the car?” Gladio braced his hands against the roof of the car, looking from Noctis to Ignis.

“The hunt’s a half mile from the road. By the time we get back, he’ll have passed out from the heat,” Ignis explained. “If he doesn’t pass out from starvation first,” He muttered under his breath.

So Gladio tugged Freckles forcefully out of the car, ignoring the pitiful gasping noise he made. “C’mon kid, we’re gonna go for a little walk.” 

Freckles looked at each of them in turn, nodding shallowly. 

“Here, why don’t we untie him. Gladio, you’re able to keep a good eye on him?” Ignis asked, reaching towards Freckles’ wrists.

“D’you even need to ask?” Gladio huffed, keeping one hand curled around Freckles’ bicep as Ignis carefully undid the bonds. 

Ignis gave a small smile, tugging the last of the knots out. He wound the rope into a coil, then banished it back to the Arsenal, where it would stay until they needed it again. “Then let’s go. It seems Noct is getting rather impatient.”  
And, lo and behold, Noctis was waiting for them just beyond the ridge, tapping his foot anxiously. “Are we ready?” He asked, glancing from Gladio, to Ignis, to Freckles. When no one responded, he sighed, “Then let’s get going.” Noctis gave Freckles an indecipherable look as he turned towards the direction of the hunt.

They hadn’t been walking long, maybe a fourth of a mile, when Gladio gave a sudden grunt. 

Ignis whirled around and saw Freckles hanging limply from the Shield’s hand, and his heart jumped into his throat. “What happened?” He asked, rushing to the semiconscious blond.

“I dunno,” Gladio shrugged, allowing Ignis to lay Freckles down on the ground. “He just sorta fell.”

“He’s dehydrated,” Ignis noted, brushing his fingers across Freckles’ cheekbone. “No sweat. Noctis, if you’ll pull out one of those water bottles. We should have some plastic ones in the red cooler. 

Noctis obeyed, handing Ignis a sealed plastic water bottle. 

“Now, Freckles, I know you don’t like to eat or drink, but you  _ need _ to drink this or we’ll have to take you to a hospital, okay?” Without waiting for a response, Ignis propped Freckles up and carefully cracked open the seal. “Here, nice, slow sips.”

Thank whatever Astral is in charge of people drinking water, because they blessed him as Freckles slowly sipped down the water until he had worked his way through two whole bottles.

“Now, Noct, let’s try something small to eat. Do you still have that package of granola bars?” Ignis asked

Noct nodded, and pulled it out of the Arsenal, pressing it into the Advisor’s hand. Ignis ripped the box open and took out a few bars. “Now, Freckles, please eat these, okay? They’ll make you feel better,” Ignis said, unwrapping one of the bars and holding it near the blond’s lips.

By the Astrals’ grace, Freckles leaned forward and nibbled on the edge of the granola bar. Slowly, he finished that one bar and started on the next one Ignis had just unwrapped and held out to him.

Two bottles of water and four granola bars later, Freckles was definitely starting to look better, but he was still pallid, and dry to the touch. Considering the Leiden heat and the heavy armour the boy was wearing, he was probably toeing the edge of heat stroke.

“If you don’t mind, we should take off that armor” Ignis suggested calmly, “It might-”

At the very mention of removing his armor, Freckles jerked away, crossing his arms over his chest protectively. His breath came in heaving gasps, and he looked about two steps away from crying.

“...Or you may keep it on if you wish,” Ignis said softly.

Freckles nodded, drawing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

“Very well. It’s past noon, so the heat should start to die down. Shall we get going?” Igniss held out a hand to Freckles, who gripped it in a thin, uncertain hand. With Ignis’s help, the boy managed to stagger to his feet and remain standing completely under his own power.

In fact, he managed to make it to the hunt site without any support from anyone, which should be a little concerning, seeing as how he was looking more and more dehydrated by the minute, but at least he was keeping pace. He listened to Ignis’ instruction to keep back as they neared the hunt, so he wouldn’t get caught up in the fighting, staring off into the distance as if it held the answers he was looking for.

 

* * *

 

“C’mon, Noct, you were slacking off back there!” Gladio growled, slapping Noctis upside the head with a little more force than was really necessary.

“Ow!” Noctis yelped, dancing away from Gladio, “Back off! We killed them all, didn’t we? So let’s get the reward for doing the work!”

“ _ What _ work?” Gladio snorted. “You warped away while Iggy and I did all the heavy lifting.”

“Well  _ sorry _ I wanted to take in the battlefield from a distance,  _ Gladio _ ,” Noctis nudged his bodyguard playfully, “Y’know, take in the positions and plan ahead and whatnot.”

Freckles stood shakily as they approached, keeping his eyes down and falling into step next to Gladio. This time, however, Gladio didn’t see fit to keep a hand on him and instead shoved his hands in his pockets. “Whatever, princess,” He snorted.

Ignis noticed Freckles suddenly stop short and whirl around to look behind them just as he heard a familiar whirring noise.  _ Ah, shit _ . “A Magitek engine!” He called to Noctis and Gladio, “It’s close!” Then he turned to Freckles, “Fall back. We’ll take care of these guys, okay?”

Before Freckles could nod, Ignis had turned away, towards the direction of the dropship. He didn’t want to think that there could be more people like Freckles under those masks, but he soothed himself with the realization that the MTs pouring out of the dropship were the assassin types, and Freckles had been a sniper type.

Then he worried himself up by realizing these were the assassin type. Sure, they were weaker against spears and daggers, but they were still terrifyingly deadly opponents. 

The three of them split up, drawing the assassins into smaller groups to make them easier to deal with. Ignis was trying to keep an eye on Noctis and Gladio while fighting, but it proved to me a near fatal mistake. His only warning was the grinding of gears as one of the assassins wound up their attack.

It was close. Too close for him to get away from. He prepared himself for a burning pain, but only felt himself being shoved to the ground as the sliding sound of metal on metal and a gasping whimper filled his ears. He quickly rolled to his feet, surveying the damage.

Before he could really comprehend what had just happened, Freckles was flying back with a yelp, just as the assassin that had nearly killed Ignis fizzed to a stop, one of its own daggers stuck in the shoulder joint of its armor, just by the chest. There were two more assassins coming after him, but Ignis pinpointed the area that Freckles had used to take down the assassins, driving his spear hard into each of them, one right after the other.

He barely gave the armor time to fall completely apart as he turned on his heel towards Freckles.

Oh gods.

Blood pooled around a few deep gashes in the boy’s side, and his body shuddered at its loss. Luckily, he was still wearing his armor, or he would have been completely eviscerated. Still, Freckles was whimpering softly, eyes unfocused as he pressed his hands to the wound in an attempt to stunt the bleeding, but the wound was too big and deep.

Shoving aside his worry, Ignis knelt down beside him, brushing one of his hands away from where it was clamped around the wound. Freckles whimpered and tried to cover it up again, but Ignis gripped his wrists and shook his head.

“I’m going to make it better, okay?” He asked.

Freckles paused, then nodded dazedly, and Ignis pulled out an elixir. He wasn’t sure how well Noctis would take the news that his advisor had just given his enemy such a powerful curative, but they didn’t have time to fuck around with potions. Freckles needed the elixir,  _ now. _

The elixir worked quickly at sealing up the injuries, healing bone, muscle, nerves, and skin in just a few seconds. Freckles gasped at the curative’s burn, but then scrabbled at his side where the wound used to be. His mouth opened and shut wordlessly, trying to comprehend what was happening.

“Shhh,” Ignis soothed, resting a hand on the boy’s shoulder, “You’re going to be okay now. The curative healed everything, and you didn’t lose too much blood. Can you get to your feet?” Ignis held out a hand, and Freckles took it, wobbling to stand only slightly uncertainly.

“Ignis!” Noctis called, rushing over to Freckles and Ignis as Gladio took out the last assassin, “Are you okay? What happened?” He looked over Ignis carefully, taking in a few cuts that decorated his face and arms, but nothing serious, then he noticed how Freckles’ tunic was sliced open at the side, and a scar was just barely visible.

“I am well, Noct, don’t worry. Freckles saved my life. I hope you don’t mind, but I gave him an elixir. If not, he probably would have bled out.” Ignis fixed Noctis with a look that dared him to argue, but Noctis simply nodded, staring dumbfoundedly at Freckles.

“Yeah, no, that… no, that’s fine,” He murmured before turning to Freckles, “Um, thanks. For helping him,” He said, turning back to trudge back to the car.

After a beat, Freckles nodded slowly and followed.

 

* * *

 

As Gladio and Noctis turned in their most recent hunt and replenished their curative supply, Ignis turned to Freckles, asking a question that had been burning a hole in his head for the past hour.

“Why did you save me?” He asked, though he didn’t expect an answer outside of one of those one-armed shrugs. It didn’t make sense at all. Freckles was a prisoner, he was being treated like  _ shit _ , he spent more of his days tied up in a corner of their camp than not, he-

“-ou’re nice…” 

The words were so faint, Ignis almost didn’t catch them over the music coming from the radio. His first thought was,  _ So he  _ can _ speak, he just chooses not to _ . Then his second thought,  _ He thinks I’ve been  _ nice _? _ The guilt buried a knife in his stomach and twisted,  _ hard _ .

“Am I?” He asked mildly, as if commenting on the weather, not trying to ignore how he has been mistreating this  _ child _ .

Freckles nodded, “You….” he trailed off, shrugging in that way of his, “Help.” He finished. “Heal,” He added.

Another twist of the guilt stabbing itself into his stomach. “Yes, well, I think you’ll find that’s just how I am.”

The boy looked at him, curious, but at that moment, Gladio and Noctis returned to the car, and Freckles’ mouth snapped shut.

“If memory serves, I believe there’s a haven nearby where we can make camp,” Ignis said, ignoring Noctis’ groans of protest.

Ignis’ memory  _ did _ serve, and not ten minutes later, the group was setting up camp. It had been a long day and Ignis  _ really _ didn’t feel like cooking anything right now, so he settled for reheating some of the leftover soup, passing around bowls. 

He placed one of the bowls in front of Freckles, hoping,  _ praying _ the kid would eat. After all, he had eaten some of those granola bars earlier. But he just turned away, trying to blink the tears out of his eyes.

Just as Ignis was about to plead with Freckles, tell Gladio to hold his head still while Ignis poured the soup down his throat, Noctis knelt down next to the boy. 

“Hey, d’you think this is poisoned or something?” He asked, “You seemed okay with eating packaged food and water, after all.”

Freckles paused, looking from Noctis to Ignis, and then ever so slowly began to nod.

Ignis’ heart sank. Did this kid really think they’d do that to him?

“Y’know,” Noct said around a few spoonfuls of Freckles’ soup he had just filched, “If we wanted to kill you, we would have done it already. We’ve killed stronger enemies in seconds, you wouldn’t be a challenge.”

Instead of  _ completely terrifying _ Freckles, like he expected Noctis’ words to do, they strangely seemed to calm him down, and the blond slowly lifted the spoon to his lips. After that,  _ nothing _ about his eating was slow. He ended up ditching the spoon after about five seconds, instead choosing to slurp it directly from the bowl.

Ignis watched, somewhere between amusement and horror as Freckles (ate) devoured the soup like he was starving. Which, technically, he probably was. 

When the blond had finally sucked down as much soup as possible, he started to lick the bits of soup that clung to the bowl, not stopping, barely breathing, until he had consumed every last drop. 

He looked up, locking eyes with Ignis for a second before dropping them again. “...good…” He murmured.

“Thank you for the compliment. Would you like more? Provided you slow down eating?” Ignis asked, holding a hand out for the bowl. 

Freckles looked confused, “More?” He asked in a wavery voice that made Ignis’ heart clench. 

“Yes. If you’re still hungry, you can have more soup. Would you like that?”

Freckles held out his bowl and nodded.

“Noct, would you mind fetching another bowl of soup?” Ignis asked, watching Freckles closely as Noctis obeyed, picking up a bigger spoon so the blond would be more inclined to use it.

It was heart wrenching, in a way, to see how desperately the kid ate it all, scraping the bottom of the bowl with his spoon, then discarding the spoon to lick up the rest. When he had finished, he fiddled with the bowl awkwardly, and Ignis had no doubts that he wanted more.

“I’m sure you’re quite hungry, right?” He continued past the blond’s ambivalent shrug, “You shouldn’t eat too much right away, okay? I’ll leave a few snacks out so if you get hungry in the middle of the night, you can eat, but you’ll get sick if you eat too much all at once. Are you okay with that?”

Freckles shrugged, but Ignis could see a deeper sadness in the slight slump of his shoulders.

“Hey,” Ignis said softly, cupping a hand under the blond’s chin. “I don’t like keeping food from my friends, but it’s to make you feel better, do you understand?” 

“F...friends?” 

Ignis smiled, “Well, you  _ did _ save my life. I think that makes us friends. As for the others…” Ignis glanced back at Gladio, who was still keeping a sharp eye on their charge, “they don’t hate you. Much. Anymore. And with time, I think you could make friends with them.”

Then, Ignis stood, leaving Freckles to mouth the word “friend” to himself over and over again. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to let him in the tent?” He asked mildly.

Gladio snorted. “Yeah, hell no. We’ve known him for, what, three days now? He’s still the enemy, don’t let your bleeding heart forget that.”

“Fair point,” Ignis conceded. “Perhaps a compromise then? Will you feel comfortable untying his hands at night? And since Noct usually uses one of us for a pillow, I’m sure he could lend his to our guest?”

Gladio hummed, “I guess I’ll trust you on the whole “untying” him bit. See if you can convince Noctis to give up his pillow, though,” He said with a grin.

“Ah, yes, the  _ true _ test of my diplomacy skills,” Ignis replied, ducking into the tent where Noctis was playing a game of King’s Knight. He stood, slightly hunched over for a few seconds to get Noctis’ attention.

“What’s up Ig?”

“I believe that we should reward our guest for his actions this afternoon. Would you be willing to relinquish your pillow for the time being?”

“Yeah, sure,” Noctis replied, waving a dismissive hand.

“Really?” His diplomacy skills must be sharper than he knew, if he could convince Noctis so easily to give up his pillow.

Noctis tapped his phone’s power button and put it to sleep. “Ig…” He trailed off, and Ignis caught hints of worry in Noctis’ voice, “You almost got really hurt,  _ died _ even. He saved you,” Noctis jerked his head to the outside of the tent, “If giving up my pillow is a way of saying thanks, then he can keep it for all I care.”

Humming thoughtfully, Ignis gathered up the pillow, stopping to ruffle Noctis’ head. “I shall endeavor not to make such a sacrifice necessary again.”

Instead of a snarky retort him keeping four eyes on the battle, Noctis simply nodded and woke his phone back up.

Back outside the tent, Gladio had sat down in a folding chair facing Freckles, nose buried in a book. Meanwhile, Freckles traced the rim of the bowl. He started as Ignis got closer, looking down at the ground and clenching the bowl tightly.

“Here,” Ignis held out the pillow.

Freckles looked at it uncertainly, then, with Ignis’ further urging, took it and squeezed it experimentally. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked at Ignis curiously. “What….?”

“It...it’s a pillow,” He said, “For sleeping. It makes it more comfortable.” 

The wonder on Freckles’ face was almost painful to watch, nearly as painful as the thought that he had never seen a pillow before in however many years he’s been alive.

Before he could punch something in a bout of misplaced anger, Ignis sat next to Gladio and tried to let the sounds of the great outdoors calm him down.


	5. An Arrangement of Convenience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freckles is finally allowed in the tent, but some sickening information is revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, sorry for the wait, I have some massive back pains that only kinda get better when I'm laying down with a heating pad over my back, so I haven't really been able to write much... orz. It will likely be that way for a while, so updates will probably be around once a week for a while.
> 
> EDIT: Changed a few things to make some more sense further down the line. Instead of the injection port being in the crook of his arm (which would kinda affect mobility, whoops), it's now in his right bicep. And he'll cover it with the bandana and everything is sparkly and great now.

05953234 was having the most unusual week of his life, and it all started with a young King breaking his nose. An odd story, yes, but one he was slowly getting more comfortable with.

It was the end of another long day full of “hunts”, where he mostly sat inside the car while the other three felled whatever beast or daemon was causing trouble for the local populace, and the sky was starting to look cloudy.

“Yeah,” The king, no, _Noctis_ said, looked boredly up from his phone, “Looks like there’s an 86 percent chance of it raining in a few hours.

“So we’d best find a place to spend the night soon,” Ignis said, adjusting those glass things over his eyes. 05953234 had contemplated asking what they were, what purpose did they serve, but it never seemed like the right time, so he kept his mouth shut. “There should be a haven nearby. We can stop there.”

Noct gave an unenthusiastic “Woo hoo, _camping_. For the fifth night in a row. Lucky us.”

“Quit whining, it’s unbecoming,” Ignis chided, pointedly ignoring Noctis groaning in the background. “Besides, it’s cheap and convenient.”

It was weird, at first, to realize that although Noctis may be the king, Ignis was usually the one that overrode his decisions, as if _he_ had more authority.

“What, you too much of a princess to rough it in the great outdoors?” Gladio grinned, then guffawed at Noctis’ pout. “C’mon princess, it’ll be fun! There’s a river! You could try to fish there!”

Noctis sighed and shrugged noncommittally. “Yeah, sure, whatever.”

05953234 had also noticed that the king _really_ liked fishing. He would stop them all for a few hours at a time just to stop by a pier and try to catch a few fish for dinner. It was kind of nice to relax for a bit, but it was also a bit disconcerting to think that the three Lucians were acting so… _affable_ with him. He was starting to come round to the idea that they _didn’t_ want to kill him, and it scared him.

He didn’t know how to be treated like a human.

 

* * *

 

“Now, Gladio, seeing as it’s likely to rain, would you feel comfortable allowing our guest into the tent?” Ignis brought up the topic as he chopped vegetables for the stew.

Gladio grunted, weighing the options. “We could always tie him to a tree?” He suggested.

“Gladio…” Ignis sighed.

“What? He’ll be dry then.” Gladio shrugged.

“Honestly, a _tree_ ? Outside the _haven_? Perhaps he should just sleep in the river, then? Can’t be bothered by rain if you’re already soaked.”

“Yeah, that might work.”

“Gladio, I was being facetious. I understand your hesitation, but I feel it is misplaced. I have seen no reason to continue to punish him, and every reason to allow him a few freedoms. Like a dry place to spend the night,” Ignis replied, giving Gladio a disapproving look.

It was so _weird_ to have them arguing about where he should sleep. He was used to cold metal slabs and claustrophobic pods, so the rock hadn’t really bothered him, but Ignis wanted him to sleep in the _tent_ ? Where the _humans_ slept? It was enough to unsettle his stomach and make his back hurt. Or maybe that was just his default feeling when about to sleep, because it only came about when they set down for the night.

His stomach clenched against the discomfort and arms tingled slightly, so he curled up in a pitiful attempt to soothe the pain. It took him a few moments to realize Gladio was talking again.

“Fine, but we’re sleeping between him and Noct, and he most _definitely_ needs to get washed up. And to get rid of that damn armor.” Gladio caught 05953234’s eye, “You got that?”

05953234 froze. He was okay with Gladio and Ignis separating him and Noctis. He was okay with washing. But he couldn’t let them take off his armor, he wasn’t _allowed_ to take off his armor. If he took off his armor…

He bit back a shudder at that thought. These people were treating him like a human, for whatever godsforsaken reason. The least he could do was act like one. So he nodded.

That’s how, ten minutes later, he found himself on the banks of a river near a pier. Noctis had come to keep watch and make sure no beasts snuck up on him and Ignis, but he had his rod out, and that was a good a sign as any that his attention was elsewhere.

“Come now, Freckles, why don’t we get that armor off you?” Ignis asked lightly, tracing a hand along his chestplate, still scratched from his encounter with the MT soldier a few days ago. Immediately, he stiffened. Every fiber of his being screamed, _This is wrong! Keep the armor on, you’ll be punished for taking it off!_ , but Ignis was gentle and didn’t beat him for agreeing to take it off, so 05953234 nodded.

Ignis seemed to bumble around trying to figure out how to undo everything, so 05953234 stepped in. He had done it enough times _(around the scientists,_ only _around the scientists_ ) that taking it off came rather easily to him. He winced as the back plate snagged slightly on the port in his back, but he grit his teeth and tugged. That one was always a bit too tight. He set the armor awkwardly on the ground afterwards, then started unbuttoning his tunic.

This was just like a routine inspection. He would be poked prodded, experimented on, washed, and sent back into the armor.

When he dropped the tunic to the ground and moved to remove his pants when he heard a faint gasp. Fearing that he had done something wrong, he whirled to face Ignis, who had a weird look on his face. His eyebrows were drawn together, and his mouth slightly open, and there was a glimmer of… was that _concern_ in his eye? It was the look the scientists got when their data wasn’t quite right.

“What?” he asked softly, worried that he was the problem.

“Your back…” Ignis reached out a gentle hand, stopping when 05953234 flinched away.

05953234 gave Ignis a curious look. What was so concerning about his back? It was a back.

“And down your arms, and even your legs, I assume?” Ignis continued, “Who did that to you?”

Now 05953234 was more concerned than ever. Was something wrong with his back? Did someone do something to it? He twisted to look at the port by the base of his spine, wincing as old and new scars tore at his back and arms. Nothing looked wrong there, so he examined his arms, glancing past the injection port in his arm, then took off his pants and examined his legs. Everything seemed to be normal, so he looked back up at Ignis curiously.

“Your scars” Ignis said simply. “Who did that to you?

Unbidden, 05953234 closed his eyes against the flash of memory, _uncomfortably_ fresh in his mind. He had been a half-second late in obeying his commander’s orders, and she had noticed, making a note in her clipboard that he didn’t get to see. Then he was sent back to the scientists for “recalibration”. He forced the actual punishments from his brain, he couldn’t deal with specifics now. Usually they involved a lot of pain, but it was typical for soldiers who disobeyed, wasn’t it?

Gladio wore his scars proudly, and Noctis had walked out of the tent shirtless enough times for 05953234 to catch the ugly lines across his back. He had assumed that if a prince wasn’t above being punished for insolence, no one was. Was he mistaken?

“Punishment,” He eventually supplied.

“Punishment for what?” Ignis raised an eyebrow, not angry, or curious. He still had that spark of concern.

05953234 shrugged, “Disobedience,”

“I find it hard to believe you were that disobedient. Not to mention some of those look new, healed by an elixir. Did you still have wounds from your “punishment” when you met us?”

Ignis seemed to take his silence for a “yes”, which was just as good, because he couldn’t speak well anymore, he couldn’t think about his punishment for any longer. It hurt too bad.

“No wonder you thought I was nice, if those close to you did this to you,” Ignis said, before cupping a hand under 05953234’s chin and forcing their gazes to meet, “Understand that I find what the Empire did to you detestable, and I’m certain Gladio and Noctis would agree. You never have to worry about us hurting you in that way. Do you understand?”

There was conviction now, in place of the concern, and it was uncomfortable to be on the receiving end of so much _caring,_ of so much _kindness._ But he did understand, vaguely.

“And what of these?” The hand that cupped his chin let go, trailing down to the injection port in his right bicep. “Were these punishments as well?”

05953234 shook his head. “Injections,” He supplied.

“And how about down here?” Ignis’ fingers danced around the port at the base of his spine.

“Mobility port.”

“Is it hard to move in that armor?”

05953234 shook his head, “It’s to control my motions. During training. So I don’t…” _don’t stick out, don’t make a move out of place, don’t let anyone know what you really are-_ “So I can obey.”

“They look…Do they feel alright?”

05953234 shrugged, “They don’t hurt. Now.”

“Have they hurt in the past?”

“While sleeping…” He replied. No, that wasn’t quite the correct phrasing, but before he could go back and correct himself, Ignis had moved on and it was too late.

“Can you get them wet without… without causing damage?” Ignis had an indecipherable look in his eye.

“Yes,” 05953234 said. The scientists had washed him many times before, to keep his human stench from giving away his true nature.

“Well then, let’s get you cleaned up.”

 

* * *

 

The water was freezing cold, but Ignis’ hands were nice as he helped 05953234 wash himself once it was apparent he couldn’t do it himself. After all, he was used to a two minute spray-down: one minute for the front, one minute for the back. But then Ignis brought out two different bottles, expecting him to already be familiar with them.

At 05953234’s confused look, Ignis merely shucked off his own pants and offered to help. Within minutes, 05953234 was relaxing into Ignis’ hands massaging gently along his neck and back, down his arms. Normally when something pressed against his scars, it hurt, but the way Ignis was doing it made everything feel soft and smooth.

“There,” Ignis said, pouring a handful of water down his soapy back, “Now I’m sure no one will complain about the odor. Are you ready to head back to camp?”

After a beat, 05953234 nodded.

“Good. Now let’s get you dried off a bit, shall we?”

05953234 allowed himself to be helped to his feet and led out of the water. He started to reach for his tunic again when Ignis tutted lightly. A brief moment of panic shot through him, but then Ignis simply pressed a soft fabric to his back, and he whirled.

“It’s a towel. To dry you off,” Ignis explained. “Do you know how to use one, or would you like me to do it?”

“You,” 0593234 replied, dropping eye contact with Ignis. He hadn’t used a towel, either. It was soft and gentle, a far cry from the painful breathlessness of the air blasts the scientists used to dry him off.

Once Ignis was satisfied with his level of dryness, the advisor wrapped the towel around his waist, then turned to Noctis, who was sitting with his legs hanging off the pier, and called, “Come, we’re ready to go, Noct.”

There was no response as Noctis continued to stare out at the meandering river in front of him, a thin, flexible rod in one hand.

“Noctis!” Ignis snapped.

With a start, Noctis looked at Ignis, then a mostly-naked 05953234, then back to Ignis. “You done already?” He asked.

“It’s been half an hour,” Ignis sighed, “It’s getting dark, and I fear leaving Gladio in charge of watching the stew was a poor choice.”

Noctis snorted. “Fair. Fish aren’t really biting here, anyway.” Slowly, Noctis got to his feet and whisked his rod away with a flick of the wrist. Jogging up beside them, he seemed to notice 05953234’s bare ports, the apparently _unusual_ scars slashed across his body. “The fuck happened to you?”

For a second, 05953234 lost the ability to breathe, to walk, to _think_ , and he could only gape soundlessly. The memories were rushing back to him, he couldn’t stop them this time. He could feel each lash, could remember exactly which scientist gave it to him this time,

 _“It’s for your own good,_ crack _Unit 05953234._ crack _This will make you stronger,_ crack _a better soldier._ crack _For Niflheim,_ crack _for glory!_

“Freckles!” Ignis’ arm was crushing his bicep, finger tapping his cheek hard, almost painfully, but 05953234 couldn’t find himself caring. It’s a light pain, not like the punishments, the burning, the solitude, the cutting, the-

“Hey, Freckles!” He was being shaken now, and he could vaguely hear Noctis saying something about friends, and safety. He heaved shuddering breaths, suddenly aware that he was sitting on the ground limply, held up by a warmth behind him, and Ignis’ hands cupping his face.

It took a few minutes for his racing heart to slow down to a comfortable rhythm, but eventually he could breathe easier, couldn’t hear his heart pounding in his ears, and the gentle warmth on his back is nice.

“Are you back with us?” Ignis asked softly, smiling as 05953234 nodded, “Good. Let’s get back to the haven so we can get you dressed, okay?”

Shakily, 05953234 got to his feet with some help from Noctis, whom he had just realized had been the warmth supporting him. He stumbled back a few steps closer to Ignis, then kept his eyes locked on the ground ahead of him.

Back at the haven, a delicious smell wafted from the pot over the fire that made his stomach churn, but he was so hungry that he would probably eat it anyway. Gladio was standing over the pot and watched Ignis lead 05953234 towards the tent.

“Bahamut’s _asshole_ , what-”

Gladio’s next words were cut off by Noctis dropping the pile of clothes and armor and slapping a hand over Gladio’s mouth. Then he leaned towards Gladio’s ear and whispered something, too low to make out. Gladio raised his eyebrows, then met 05953234’s eyes.

Before anyone could make any further comment, Ignis had whisked him into the tent, zipping it closed. “Now,” The advisor said softly, “Let’s pick out some new clothes for you before dinner, okay?”

There was a silence before 05953234 realized Ignis was waiting for a response and he nodded his head.

“Great. Well, you’re more Noctis’ size than mine or Gladio’s, so let’s try this,” Ignis shoved a pile of grey fabric at him, “these,” A pair of blue sturdy pants were next, “And these.” Some more fabric was shoved into his arms.

“Would you like help putting all that on, or do you think you can do it yourself?”

“Me.” He replied, already poking his head and arms through the holes in the shirt. It was tight, almost too tight to fit into, digging uncomfortably into his armpits. But it was a clean shirt, and he didn’t really have any options, so he started shimmying into the boxers.

“Hold on, that shirt doesn’t look like it fits you well. It seems you’re too broad-shouldered for His Majesty’s garments. I believe I have an extra shirt that would fit you, though.” As Ignis turned away to search another backpack, he continued, “Why don’t you take that one off?”

Carefully, 05953234 removed the garment. It was so weird to be out of his armor, his body felt so light and airy, like he was five seconds away from smacking himself in the face if he moved too fast.

Then a soft blue shirt was handed to him, and he slipped it on. It was a little bit loose and long, but it was comfortable. More comfortable than his armor, and more comfortable than the first shirt.

“That’s better.” Ignis said.

It definitely was better, the boxers and the pants, too. It was different from the stiff fabric of his tunic and pants in a good way. The pants he was given were a little stiff around the knee and bunched up when his knee bent, but comparatively, this was the lightest he’d felt in a _long_ time. He was pretty sure he was going to cry soo-

Oh, wait, he was already crying.

Ignis rubbed his hand gently over his back, and it was warm and comforting and it almost made him cry harder.

“Thank you…” He managed raspily between tears. “It’s….” He tried to think of the right word for this feeling bubbling in his chest.

“You like it a lot?”

05953234 nodded emphatically.

“Then you could say it’s ‘really nice’, or ‘amazing’, or ‘fantastic’, or ‘mind-blowing’, though I myself am rather partial to ‘superb’, or ‘sensational’.”

“It’s...it’s superb,” 05953234 managed to choke out. He never knew there were so many words to describe this feeling. It was like a whole new world opened up for him.

“Well, then, put on the socks and shoes, and we can go have some dinner.”

 

* * *

 

In fact, Noctis’ shoes had been a good size too small, and Gladio’s had been a size too big. Ignis sighed, directing him to a seat next to the fire, “If you didn’t fit into Gladio’s shoes, then you won’t fit into mine. Shame. I suppose we’ll have to get you a new pair before our next hunt. I don’t suppose you’d want to walk around with armored boots on, now, would you?”

05953234 shrugged. It would suck, he _hated_ those boots, they pinched and ached, but it was better than no shoes, and they were always mentioning a perpetual lack of money, and he didn’t want to be a burden, an-

“There’s a hunter outpost near Keycatrich, where I got that royal arm, right? There’s gotta be a place there that sells boots and stuff, right?” Noctis cut off his train of thought, picking up a bowl Ignis had placed on the portable workstation in next to the fire. Gladio took one as well, sitting on the floor of the haven next to 05953234’s chair.

“Freckles,” Ignis called, picking up his own bowl, “Come get some food”

He nodded and thrust himself to his feet, momentarily forgetting that he didn’t have his armor on and toppling over. He managed to catch himself on the edge of the workstation, but his hand knocked off the last remaining bowl, and it dumped most of its contents out as it clattered to the ground.

Immediately, 05953234 felt his heart constrict. Here these people were, being so _nice,_ and so _giving_ , and he just ruined it by pouring their food on the ground. “Sorry!” He yelped, throwing himself to the ground and starting to scrape up the soup on the ground, “I’m so sorry!” He repeated again as Ignis started to interject.

The spoon wasn’t working, the haven ground was too rough, so he bent down and started licking the stew off. Considering where he was eating from, it didn’t taste half bad. But before he could get more than a few licks in, he felt himself being tugged back by his shirt, and he fell back with a yelp.

“Don’t _do_ that! Gods!” Noctis was bunching his fists into the fabric of his shirt, and his face was angry. Oh god, he was angry. He could feel himself start to shake, shrink away in fear. Ignis said he wouldn’t be punished, but that was before he _spilled_ their _food_!

“Noctis.” Ignis’ voice was sharp, and when he knelt next to 05953234, the blond couldn’t suppress a flinch. He knew there was going to be pain, was _expecting_ pain, but none came.

Instead, a gentle hand rested on his shoulder. “Can you look at me?”

05953234 obeyed.

“Noctis was not angry at you. He was merely concerned that you seemed so willing to eat off the floor, and he’s poor at showing emotions.” Ignis said quietly. Noctis seemed to have no arguments to make as Ignis continued, “If you drop food, it’s okay. You don’t have to eat it. After all, we have plenty of food, and the ground makes for poor presentation.”

“Iggy’s all about the presentation.” Gladio snorted.

“Yes, well, an appealing-looking plate is half the battle, is it not?’ Ignis asked as he helped 05953234 to his feet.

This was absolutely the _weirdest_ thing to have ever happened to him. By all accounts, these men should hate him, but they don’t. At least not a lot. After all, they gave him their food, their clothes, their shelter, their healing. All for some sub-human _thing_.

Next thing he knew, he was crying again, and Ignis’ arms wrapped around his shoulders. It was weird, should have felt suffocating, but it was nice and loose and gentle and allowed him to shift around.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, until the sniffling had died down and his breaths were deeper and more even. Then Ignis pulled away and put a few fingers under his chin so their gazes met.

“Now, why don’t you eat, and then we go to bed? It’s been a long day. I’m sure we all need our rest.” 05953234 couldn’t agree with him fast enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone take this child away from me and give him cuddles. I only know how to be mean.


	6. For Health and Happiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis makes an executive decision to help Freckles' health, and the chocobab gets some clothes and cuddles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyy back is killing me all the time now, so might as well write fanfic, amirite? I've become addicted to the "Focus" playlists on Spotify, and therefore, I gotta say writing is coming a lot easier now XD
> 
> Ps, bit of a vomit warning for this chapter. Skip to "It wasn’t much longer until Freckles’ body had finished..." to avoid it

Ignis woke up just as his alarm went off. He sat up, quickly turning it off before it could wake up the others. When he set his phone down, however, he noticed he was just a bit too late.

Freckles was sitting up, looking around blearily.

“Good morning,” Ignis whispered, “You can go back to sleep if you’d like, or you could join me outside, if you’d prefer.”

After a brief pause, he nodded and got to his feet, being extra careful not to rouse anyone.

“You needn’t worry about waking Noct, at the least,” Ignis said, “I’m fairly certain you could step on his leg and he’d hardly notice.” He turned to find Freckles smiling faintly, arms clenched uncertainly around his torso.

“Are you quite alright?” He noticed that Freckles’ trademark spots stood out more than usual, and that his hair had lost some of its shine. Though the boy just shrugged and turned his gaze to the ground.

Ignis counted to ten in his head to keep from exploding in anger that this _child_ had been so mistreated that he couldn’t even say when he was hurt and needed help. “Well, sit down for a moment, I’ll get the kitchen set up, then I can take a look at you. Does that sound okay?” _And I swear to Shiva if you do one of those shrug things, I am going to find the people responsible for doing this to you and-_

Freckles shrugged.

Ignis took a deep breath, remembering a still lake on a summer afternoon, a walk through the Citadel gardens, the lazy Sundays at Noctis’ apartment, anything calming he could possibly think of before he did something rash.

“Very well,” He said instead, turning to dry last night's dishes. He was almost finished when a gut-twisting retching sound made him whirl around.

Freckles had practically thrown himself out of the chair, his hands and knees no doubt scraped from the harsh tumble. He was hunched over as his body expelled a vile black liquid, almost like oil, but without the pungent odor. Black veins snaked up and down his arms from the metal bit he called an “injection port”, disappearing across his hands and down his back.

The black substance he had vomited seemed to bubble on the haven floor before melting away into a purple miasma.

It wasn’t much longer until Freckles’ body had finished, leaving the boy breathless and vaguely teary-eyed. He sat back on his heels taking in ragged gasps of air as Ignis opened a water bottle for him. He noticed that the blackness under Freckle’s skin was shrinking back again

He patiently waited until Freckles had finished drinking to help him to the chair again. “Are you feeling better?” He asked quietly, eyes tracing the black veins slowly tracing their back.

Freckles nodded slowly, wrapping his arms around his midsection.

“I’m glad. Now, do you happen to know what that black liquid was that you just threw up?”

Freckles nodded again. “Daemon blood,” He replied softly, picking at the wristband Noctis had offered him to cover the barcode printed there.

A stone dropped in Ignis’ gut. When he saw it fizzle away, he had his suspicions, but hearing made it more real.

As if sensing Ignis’ surprise, Freckles continued, twisting the wristband around his wrist anxiously, “That’s how we’re-that’s how MT’s are made. Humans infected with daemon blood. And some other things. Um, but some of us didn’t… we didn’t change, our bodies rejected the blood. But the scientists didn’t like failure, so they put us in the suits anyway, an-and don’t tell the generals.  Th-the modifications to wear the suits... The modifications require integrated magitek ports, a-and those are daemon-made.”

Ignis didn’t dare move. This was the most Freckles had spoken… ever. Even all the other times put together paled in comparison to this.

“But I don’t know why the… the modifications turned my blood into daemon blood just then, this has never happened unless it was injected, I swear!”

Dread settled uncomfortably in Ignis’ “There might be some other factor at work here, I fear. Have you ever wondered why we only camp at havens? Why we’re safe at havens?”

Freckles shook his head, and Ignis mentally slapped himself. Of _course_ someone who spent his time trying to conform to impossible standards wouldn’t ask questions.

“Well,” He pressed on valiantly, “It’s because these runes ward off daemons. Perhaps these runes stir up some daemon magic in those enhancements of yours, and they’re simply trying to defend themselves,” He suggested. “Since havens seem to be harmful to your health, I suppose we’ll have to start staying in caravans and motels. I’m positive Noctis won’t complain, though.”

Freckles gave a wan smile and a nod, fingers clenching around his midsection. Would you prefer to sit outside the haven? Since the sun has risen, there is no danger of daemons.”

Freckles shook his head, tucking his knees close to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

“Very well. Are you feeling up to eating? I can make something light if you’d prefer.”

“Yes, please.”

 

* * *

 

Ten minutes later, Freckles was eating oatmeal, still curled up in a folding chair and not talking, which was fine, because Ignis filled the silence with the sounds of cooking: rhythmic chopping, sloshing liquids, sizzling oils.

When Gladio got up, he paused in front of Freckles, taking in his haggard appearance and closed-off posture.

“Hey, kid,” He said, “Why don’t you come on a run with me? Put some color in those cheeks.”

Freckles paused, then shrugged, sliding off the folding chair and following Gladio. But before the kid could get more than two steps, Gladio held up a hand.

“Hold on there, you’re gonna need some proper footwear. It’s better to wear something that’s too big than too small, so let’s just stuff some extra socks into my spare pair, and it’ll serve you for now, okay?”

Freckles nodded quickly, then allowed himself to be led to the tent. When he and Gladio came out again, he was boasting an old pair of boots. Not the best for running, but they’d do better than bare feet, and Ignis definitely would feel more comfortable if Freckles was far from the damaging effects of the haven.

When they left, it was quiet and relaxing, and he quickly found himself focusing intently on his work. So intently, perhaps, that he didn’t notice the sun had risen farther up on the horizon, blowing back the bits of orange and pink from the earlier sunrise, nor did he notice Gladio’s and Freckles’ return until Gladio clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“How much longer ‘til breakfast is ready?”

“Oh! Oh, it should only be a few more minutes. If you’d be so kind as to wake Noct up, I’m sure I’ll be done by the time he comes out.’

Gladio disappeared into the tent, and Ignis turned to Freckles.

“So,” he asked casually, “Did you enjoy running with Gladio?”

Freckles’ smile and emphatic nod warmed Ignis’ heart, and he chuckled. “I’m glad. I’m sure Gladio would enjoy having you around as a workout buddy. I’m often to busy to accompany him, and Noct is often too tired.”

“He’s funny,” Freckles said softly, ducking his head when Ignis fixed him with a look.

“I _suppose_ Gladio can be moderately humorous, from time to time…” Ignis tapped his chin thoughtfully. “But you have never heard _me_ at my best. It has been said that my puns can make lesser men weep.”

Eyes widening to the size of dinner plates, Freckles leaned forward, “Really?” He gasped. “What are puns?”

Ignis grinned. Finally, a receptive audience.

“Puns, dear Freckles, are turns of phrase that use double meanings or words with similar sounds to make a joke. For example, ‘Have you heard about the man who tried to eat a whole clock? It was very time-consuming.’”

Freckles was silent for a moment, his brows furrowed in intense concentration. His lips moved silently, and then his face brightened and he let out a loud laugh before quickly smothering it with his hands. “Time-consuming....” He whispered, awestruck.

Ignis didn’t bite back his own laugh, “Yes, “time-consuming”. Unfortunately I can’t claim ownership of that one, but I have plenty more puns where that came from.” He grinned.

Before Freckles could reply, Noctis tumbled out of the tent, staggering to his feet and covering a yawn.

“...ugh... mornin’ Specs…” He mumbled, collapsing into the chair next to Freckles and probably falling asleep again.

Ignis sighed and motioned for Gladio to keep their sleepy king awake long enough to eat some food and get into the car.

Noctis protested, hard, but a plate of waffles in front of him quickly changed his mind.

“Also, Noct, I was thinking that all this time camping might not be for the best for all of our backs. We have a decent amount of gil saved up from those hunts, so, with your permission, I was thinking we could start staying in more motels and caravans,” Ignis said, avoiding Freckles’ stare that was boring into the side of his head.

“Okay, who are you and what have you done with my advisor?” Noctis groaned, “He’d never suggest spending more money than absolutely necessary.”

“Does that mean you’d prefer to keep camp-”

“No! No, motels are good! A-and caravans!” Noctis sat bolt upright, “No questions asked, got it! Fine.”

Ignis laughed and turned to start cleaning up the workstation before they all had to set out.

Ignis motioned for Freckles to follow Noctis as he drew Gladio back, “I imagine you’re not as happy about not camping, but I fear that I have just been made aware of a startling discovery. You’ve no doubt noticed the ports Freckles has in his arm and back?”

Gladio nodded slowly.

“Those are partially created with daemon magic. Every time he stayed in a haven, that daemon magic was fighting to escape, and he was caught in the crossfires. It’s merely for his health.”

With a shrug, Gladio continued on, “Thanks for the update, Ig. Still gonna suggest it to His Majesty every night though,” He said with a smirk.

“Gladio, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

* * *

 

“Here,” Noctis said from behind. “Just in case you get into a tight spot.” When Ignis glanced back, he saw Noctis handing Freckles a simple handgun. Noctis of course had been trained in firearms, though he still preferred bladed weapons. Nevertheless, a gun had been placed in his Arsenal. But now Noctis brought it out and held it out to Freckles, who stood unmoving.

For a second, it looked like Gladio was going to argue, but then he closed his mouth and shrugged. “Don’t make us regret giving you that,” Gladio said over his shoulder as he walked away.

 

* * *

 

Freckles, in fact, did _not_ make them regret giving him that. He didn’t even end up using it, as the anaks easily fell under the combined prowess of Ignis, Gladio, and Noctis. After a few minutes of searching, Noctis pulled a bent dog tag from under an abandoned car and dusted it off.

“Let’s head back to the outpost. All that fighting really worked up an appetite.” Gladio stretched out sore muscles and patted Noctis on the back.

“Couldn’t agree with you more,” Noctis yawned.

Ignis followed behind the two others, pulling the car keys from his pocket when he felt a tug on his shirtsleeve. He turned and saw Freckles standing there, looking at the ground uncertainly, like he wished it would just swallow him up. “Is there something you’d like to say?” Ignis asked kindly, turning so that he blocked out Freckles’ view of Gladio and Noctis.

“...can…” Freckles trailed off, but then took a deep breath and continued, “Can I help? Fight?” He saw Ignis’ apprehensive face, and his own fell. “I...I mean…” He swallowed hard, “N-never...never mind.”

Ignis caught his arm before he could go more than two paces. “Is that truly what you want? To fight alongside us?”

Freckles nodded emphatically.

“I will discuss it with the others, but I see no problem with it. Now, before we get to the outpost, why don’t I…” Ignis trailed off as he pulled out a handkerchief from his back pocket. Freckles looked confused, but stayed still as Ignis wrapped it around the injection port in his bicep. “There,” He said, adjusting it so there was no trace of metal to be seen. “Now we can avoid any awkward questions back at the outpost.” When Prompto nodded gratefully, fingers dancing over the fabric, Ignis said, “Let’s catch up with the others, shall we?”

With a small skip that was quickly tamped down on, Freckles followed closely behind.

The drive back to the outpost was quick, as was the transaction with Dave. A brusque thank you, an exchange of goods, and soon Noctis was placing 5 megapotions into their inventory.

“Hey,” Noctis piped up before Dave turned away to head off to Six knows where, “Where could we find some clothes around here?”

Dave pointed to a squat brick building across the road from the hub, “Buncha guys sell stuff they find, stuff they don’t need, so you might find some clothes there.”

Noctis thanked him and quickly headed over to where the others were waiting. “C’mon, Freckles, let’s get you some clothes of your own.”

 

* * *

 

As expected, Freckles needed more than a little… _encouragement_... to do his own shopping. He had walked into the trading post and immediately froze, taking in everything in front of him.

“Why don’t you pick out what you like?” Ignis suggested, placing a light hand on the boy’s shoulder.

That, in fact, had been a little too broad of a statement. Freckles had wandered around the store for about two minutes before coming back with a pair of shoes and a shirt, both of which looked way too small for him.

“Do you really like those?” Ignis asked, trying to hide the incredulousness in his voice.

Freckles just shrugged in that way of his.

“Here, let me see them.” Ignis held out a hand and inspected the items that were given to him. These were definitely meant for a child, why in the world would Freckles think that he would fit in them? They weren’t in particularly good condition anyway. “Why don’t you look for something else? I don’t think these will fit you,” Ignis said carefully.

Freckles just shook his head. “‘S okay…” He mumbled, “Don’ wanna be a burden.”

And just like that, icy understanding washed over Ignis and he glanced at the price tag. Put together, the shoes and shirt cost less than the fries at that diner Noctis always dragged them to. “Freckles,” He started softly, “Don’t worry about the price. We have plenty of money.  You will not burden us.”

When Freckles didn’t make a move to look for more clothes, Ignis took his hand gently and led him towards the men’s clothing. “I’d suppose you’d be a size medium, so let’s see what they have…” He muttered, sifting slowly through the clothing rack and keeping a close eye on Freckles’ reactions.

They were almost through the shirts when Ignis noticed Freckles’ eyes widen and heard the faint gasp. He glanced back at the shirt, a deep burgundy tank top. He eased it out and looped the hanger over his arm, continuing to look through the last of the shirts. Another shirt, this time a black tank top with a geometric pattern, caught Freckles’ attention and Ignis added it to the pile on his wrist.

By the time they combed through the entirety of the men’s clothing section, Ignis had a row of hangers almost to his elbow and ten different pairs of shoes piled in Freckles’ and Noctis’ arms.

“Come, let’s try these on, shall we?” A sudden thought occurred to him and he turned around slowly. He caught the eye of the cashier and asked, “Is there a changing room around here?”

The cashier pointed towards the far corner of the store, not even looking up from his phone.

Ignis followed the finger to where a bookcase stood a few feet perpendicular to the far wall and a curtain hung between them, creating a makeshift changing room. Ignis drew back the curtain. It was spacious enough, but rather shoddy. “Will you be able to try these on on your own, or would you like my assistance?”

But Freckles wasn’t looking at Ignis, he was staring at the changing room. His face was pale, and Ignis could see that he was trembling. He let go of the curtain and stepped in front of Freckles, staring at him levelly. “Is everything okay?”

From the front, Ignis could very clearly see how absolutely _terrified_ the boy was.

“...p-please…”

“What is it?”

“...please don’t- please don’t make me go in there…”

Ignis turned to the makeshift changing room and nodded. “Let’s just find out what shoes fit you and then we can buy the rest. Does that sound okay? You don’t have to go in if you don’t want to.”

Freckles squeezed the shoes closer to his body and nodded quickly, keeping his eyes on the ground.

“Then let’s get you over to a chair. Right here. Which pair do you want to try on first?”

Freckles shrugged, then pointed to a pair of black boots with red soles, obviously part of an old Crownsguard uniform.

Ignis didn’t want to think about what had happened to the boots’ owner. Instead, he helped Freckles set down his pile of shoes and slide on the boots. “Do they fit right?” He asked, glancing up at Freckles just in time to see him shrug. “Wiggle your toes for me?”

Ignis found the point where Freckles’ foot ended and pressed his thumb into the toe of the shoe, making sure he had the right amount of room. “Okay, this looks like a good pair so far, why don’t you get up and walk around the store to test them out?”

 

* * *

 

They exited the store nearly an hour later carrying two bags nearly bursting at the seams. Freckles seemed more subdued once he heard the total, but Ignis had ignored his insistences that he was fine, that he didn’t really need all these clothes, that Ignis should waste so much money on someone like _him_.

“I’m sure we’ll spend more than double this on His Majesty’s fishing habit, so you really needn’t worry.” Ignis assured him as they entered the caravan they were staying at. “And these are necessities. A new lure is not.”

“I’ll have you know, Iggy, that I can make hating fishing a crime against the state.” Noctis said, then he paused. “Can I?”

“No.”

“Damn.”

Gladio guffawed and clapped Noctis on the back as Ignis adjusted his glasses with a thin smile. “Yes, it is quite a shame” He agreed, “Now, shall I get started on dinner? What does everyone desire?”

After receiving a round of shrugs from the other three, Ignis sighed. “I see. Well, I suppose I’ll just have to make a guess.”

He spent the next hour or two cooking soup while Noctis and Gladio tried and failed to engage Freckles in conversation. It seemed that he was reluctant to speak to anyone that wasn’t Ignis, so Ignis did his part to keep the conversation going.

As Ignis spooned the soup into bowls, Freckles responded, “Chocobos?”, curling his hands around his bowl of soup.

“They’re like… giant chickens that you ride. They’re covered in feathers and they’re nice and smart and kinda pretty,” Noctis described. “I think you’d like ‘em. Your hair looks like the butt of a chocobo. A chocobutt.” He grinned.

Freckles’ face flushed at the supposed compliment and he curled in on himself.

Ignis noticed that Freckles never initiated a change in topic on his own, or asked many questions on his own, only answering questions Gladio, Noctis, or Ignis asked him. Though he was responding in full sentences most of the time, so that was a big step forward.

He glanced at his watch, finally realizing how late it was. “Well, if we are to be up at a decent hour, then we should turn in soon.” He said, getting to his feet.

Freckles immediately jumped to his feet and followed Ignis.

“I don’t think so, kid,” Gladio said, “You’re sleeping over here. There’s a hideaway cot in the couch.”

After a pause, Freckles nodded and padded over to Gladio, who took it upon himself to set up their cot, fluffing up the pillows and pulling extra sheets from the closet. “D’you want left or right side?” He asked once he finished tucking the sheets in.

Freckles just looked at him, “...wh-where are you… where will you sleep?”

Ignis furrowed his brow at that comment, turning to lock eyes with Gladio, who looked just as confused. “The hideaway cot that I just set up? Where else?”

Indeed, Freckles looked around. There were only three beds, plus a small window seat barely able to seat two people.

“So? Right or left side?”

Freckles stared at Gladio hard for a moment, then he seemed to piece everything together and shrugged, dropping his gaze to the ground.

“Fine, kid, you can stay on that side. Anyone need anything before I turn off the light?” Gladio asked, one finger ready to flick the light switch off.

“Uh-uh….” came a sleepy groan from the top bunk.

“Nor I,” Ignis replied, “Freckles?” He turned to where the boy had just been standing and found him lying on the floor. Ignis whipped to his feet in a millisecond and covered the distance between them in a few steps. “Freckles, are you okay?” He asked, kneeling down beside the boy. But he was surprised to find that Freckles had _not_ fainted and was completely conscious.

“What are you doing on the floor?” Ignis asked, trying to keep the anxiety out of his voice.

“...sleeping?” Freckles asked, as if he wasn’t quite sure what he was being asked.

“Why not sleep on the cot?”

“...It-it’s his. He said…” Freckles trailed off at the look of anger in Gladio’s eyes and Ignis had to keep himself from snapping at the other man.

“You two can _share_ it. Like we all share the tent. There’s plenty of room for both of you, okay? Though do be warned, I have it on good authority that Gladio tends to hog the blankets.” Ignis whispered, loudly enough for Gladio to hear and give an indignant, “Hey!”

“At least I don’t turn into a fucking koala like Noct. Never lets me go…” He seethed.

“Now Gladio, lets play nice, we have company,” Ignis said, helping Freckles into the cot. He ruffled the boy’s blond hair lightly and smiled. “Sweet dreams, Freckles.”

“You too.” The boy responded quietly.

 

* * *

 

Gladio woke up to the sensation of being enveloped by a faint warmth. Not like a blanket-warmth, like a Noctis-gets-too-handsy-in-the-middle-of-the-night-and-they-wake-up-half-on-top-of-each-other-warmth. But he fell asleep with Freckles, so what the hell could this be?

He peeled open his eyes and was met with a mop of blond hair resting on his chest. Gladio snorted and was about to push the kid off when he heard a whispered voice hiss.

“If you even _think_ about moving him, Gladiolus, you will…” Ignis paused, trying to come up with a suitable punishment, “I will let Noctis skip off training for a week. And sleep in for a week as well”

Gladio made an unimpressed noise, “Why d’you care? If he’s on top of me when I wanna get up, it’s his own damn fault.” But he made no move to shove the blond off.

“This is the longest I’ve seen him sleep, and we’re going to allow his body to catch up, understood? He’s been taking a lot of punishment lately.”

With a sigh, Gladio relaxed back into the pillow and scrabbled for the book on the floor by his head. “Yeah, I guess trying to sleep while half your body is trying to run away isn’t the easiest thing in the world,” He grinned as he opened the book to his book mark and picked up where he left off.

Freckles shifted a few times over the next hour or so, thin arms wrapping around Gladio’s solid frame and clinging to him like a drowning man to a floatation device. The boy was so close that Gladio could feel his heartbeat, slow and steady, and feel the puffs of air as he breathed in and out.

Slowly, Gladio noticed that Freckles’ fingers were digging into his sides, that his heartbeat was faster and more erratic, and his breaths were short and gasping. Gladio took a few slow breaths, tracing soft circles over Freckles’ back. Slowly, the blond relaxed again, then shifted slightly before opening his eyes.

He was dazed for a few seconds, then he flicked his gaze up to Gladio and locked eyes. There was a moment of confusion, when he looked down to where his hand and chin were resting on Gladio’s chest. All that was wiped away by sudden panic and he whipped himself away with a yelp and a “Sorry!”

“Hey, kid it’s okay!” Gladio soothed, just as Ignis turned around from the kitchenette

“Gladio, what did you do?” Ignis asked in exasperation as he sat down on the bed next to Freckles and placed a comforting hand on the blond’s shoulder.

“I didn’t do anything,” Gladio’s eyebrows were furrowed in concern, “He just woke up and freaked out.”

“Were you scared?” Ignis directed his question at Freckles, who nodded slowly. “Why?”

Freckles shrugged again, but both Gladio and Ignis remained silent, an unspoken request for Freckles to explain himself further. “I was...annoying you. On top of you.” He muttered.

Suddenly, Gladio felt _really_ bad about wanting to move him. “Hey, kid, you weren’t annoying me. It was… it was kinda nice.” He admitted. “And, hey, if you like to cuddle and sleep in, Noctis is the same way. You two should sleep together,” Gladio suggested.

Ignis looked at him sharply, no doubt surprised by Gladio’s suggestions.

But really, Gladio should’ve been okay with this kid a while ago. And he _was_ a kid, probably a few years younger than him, but still a kid. He was leaning into Ignis’ shoulder, whispering something Gladio couldn’t make out.

As quietly as he could, Gladio got to his feet and slid into the bathroom to change into his workout clothes. When he came back out again, Freckles was sitting on the bed, peeking curiously at the book Gladio had left on the bed.

“Hey, Freckles,” Gladio called softly, “Wanna join me on a run now that you’ve got the right shoes for the job?”

Freckles paused for a moment, then nodded, the beginnings of a smile creeping on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not quite a fluff piece in and of itself, but is it sufficiently fluffy to allow me to keep my Prompto Rights™?


	7. Sharper Sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis makes a concerning discovery about 05953234, and in turn, 05953234 reveals a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaah, I meant to publish this earlier, whoops. ^.^'
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The sun was bright when 05953234 and the others started out on the hunt. Noctis had handed him a gun and said that if he wanted to join the hunt, he could, and Gladio made no move to get between him and the king. Fingers shaking from their overwhelming kindness, he stuck the gun in the waistband of his pants.

It was fairly close, just a quick car ride away, and 05953234 found himself tapping his foot to the “radio”, as Ignis had called it. He had found that the others didn’t mind his fidgety movement as long as it was to the rhythm, so he made sure to stay in time.

Then Ignis parked the car and they all piled out, heading towards a group of beasts that 05953234 couldn’t quite make out. 

“You ready, kid?” Gladio asked from his side, summoning his humongous sword. 05953234 jumped slightly, but nodded. He was  _ so _ ready to prove to these guys just how useful he could be!

“Yeah!” He nodded, skipping slightly. He wasn’t punished the first time he had done it, with Ignis, so he thought that maybe these guys were okay with it, and they were. It was so weird that a little over a week ago he had been ready to  _ die _ , and then… it was almost like he  _ had _ died, and been reborn into this amazing world where nice people gave him food and clothes and guns and beds and everything nice and soft.

“Then let’s cut these creatures down to size, shall we?” Ignis drew his daggers through the crystal’s magic and brandished them. 

“Damn straight,” Noctis shifted his grip on his own sword, and they hurried off towards their prey. 

As they came closer, they slowly sharpened into clarity. They were still blobs of color, but at least they had form and dimension. He could use that to shoot them. Without waiting for the others to catch up, he aimed and fired at the creature’s middle. It stumbled slightly, then there was a blur of blue, and a black blob that 05953234 assumed was Noctis cleaved into the creature, leaving a spurt of blood.

He tried to run closer, to see more clearly, but Gladio shoved him back, “You’re a ranged fighter! Get some distance!” He yelled.

05953234 tried to argue that he couldn’t see the targets well enough at this distance, that no one could, the world was too blurry. But before he could get a word out, Gladio had charged at the nearest creature and bit his sword deep into its back flank.

He followed Gladio’s orders and stayed back, squinting to bring the creatures into some semblance of clarity. Obviously, this was a test of his skill. If he could bring down a creature while this far away, then he would prove that he could be helpful to the others.

Ignis and Gladio were ganging up on one of the creatures, while Noctis was focused on bringing down the one 05953234 had shot first. So he turned to the third creature, who was starting to charge Ignis and Gladio, and started shooting.

The first bullet made it stop, the second made it look around, and the third brought it charging towards him. Panic shot through his body. This time, he didn’t have enhancements to force him to move through the fear, this time he had to do it himself.

With a grunt, he managed to roll out of the way in time. Now, the creature was closer and he could see the outline more clearly. It only took two more shots for their prey to fall with a warbling cry.

“Are you quite alright?” Ignis was now next to him as Gladio cleaved through the creature’s leg. It fell on the ground, writhing in agony.

“Y-yeah. Uh, thanks.”

“Of course, it- Noct!” Ignis caught sight of Noctis lying facedown on the ground as one of the creatures charged at him, ready to spear him with the huge horn on its head. 

Without even thinking about it, 05953234 fired shot after shot at the creature. In the back of his mind, he was surprised that he still had ammo, but this was a magical gun, did it even need bullets?

The creature shrieked as Ignis dashed forward, sinking his spear into the creature’s chest. Blood spewed out, but Ignis dodged it nimbly, allowing his spear to disappear in a flash of blue. The creature fell to the ground, and they all finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Gladio, get their tails as proof, Freckles, come help me with Noct.”

Noctis, it turned out, was merely unconscious, but otherwise fine. Ignis roused him quickly, and 05953234 helped him get to his feet. When he stumbled, 05953234 made the executive decision to loop Noctis’ arm around his shoulder and grab his waist to help drag him along. 

After so long living in that heavy armor, supporting Noctis was easy, and he denied Ignis’ offer of assistance.

By the time they had arrived back at the car, Noctis had regained most of his lucidity and was walking on his own, but a few stumbles here and there still made 05953234’s heart clench, and he worriedly held up a hand to catch the king if he fell.

“Hey, I’m fine, dude,” Noctis said, waving a dismissive hand. “Just a little bump.”

Not entirely convinced, 05953234 got into the passenger’s seat and watched through the rearview mirror as Gladio helped Noctis into his seat. 

“Are we all ready?” Ignis asked, turning the car on with a twist of the keys. When everyone responded the affirmative, he slowly peeled away from the parking spot and towards the tipster they got the job from.

“I feel,” Ignis said after a time, “That we should head to Lestallum. We have no reason to hold off, and every reason to soldier on with our plans.”

05953234 froze. Of course. These three had an important duty to the world, they couldn’t hang around and hunt monsters and hang around forever. 

“This leaves you with an important question to answer, Freckles,” Ignis said, “Though you shouldn’t feel pressured to answer it right away.”  
Trepidation rose up in 05953234’s throat, and he tried (and failed) to swallow it away.

“Lestallum is a safe place with plenty of opportunities. I’m sure a resourceful man such as yourself would be able to find a good life there,” Ignis said calmly, and 05953234 felt his heart drop.

Of  _ course _ they were pawning him off at their earliest convenience. He wasn’t anything special, just a stupid MT that couldn’t even get being an MT right, but still, he had hoped that maybe they would keep him around for a bit longer. He was about to say that he understood when Ignis continued.

“However, we could definitely use someone with your skill set on our journey to Altissia, especially with your knowledge on the Empire and the Magitek troopers.”

05953234 couldn’t believe his ears. They were actually offering to bring him along? Even if it was a pity thing, he would do everything in his power to show them that their trust in him (or at least their lack of  _ dis _ trust) was not misplaced. 

“I’ll do it!” He said, twisting in his seat to look right at Ignis, “I’ll follow you guys! Wherever you go!”

Something 05953234 couldn’t quite interpret flashed across Ignis’ face. “While I appreciate the enthusiasm, I would feel more comfortable with your choice once you experience a few days of relaxation, so you can know what you’re throwing away.”

Was that Ignis trying to tell him that they really didn’t want him to come along and were just giving him the option to join them to be nice? Well, even if they were, they had offered, and he was going to accept that offer, whether they liked it or not!

Instead of vocalizing these thoughts, he kept a neutral face and nodded.

“Also,” Ignis said again, “I noticed you were squinting during the battle. Are your eyes okay?”

05953234 shrugged, “I was just too far back. Everything was blurry. That-” He turned to look at Gladio, “That’s why I was getting closer, so I could see better.”

“Kid, you were like 50 feet away. How much closer do you need to be?”

“W-well, things are always blurry until they’re up in your face, right? That’s why you three fight up close, right?”

“What? No,” Noctis said, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “We fight up close because our weapons are close-range.”

“Freckles,” Ignis interrupted, “Can you tell me what that sign up there says?” 

05953234 followed Ignis’ finger towards a blob of color in front of them, but by the time it was close enough to read, they had already passed it, too fast for him to even start to work on deciphering the first letter. “N-no, I’m sorry, I missed it.” His face flushed pink. Here he was, trying to show how useful he was, and he was already failing the  _ simple _ tests. 

“Tell me, have the… have the people you interacted with in Niflheim ever mentioned anything about your eyes? Or corrective lenses or anything of the kind?”

It was a weird question, but 05953234 cast his mind back anyway. “I...I think they mentioned implants...um, they mentioned those a couple months ago. But...but I never got them. Wh-why?”

“Do you know what I’m wearing?” Ignis tapped the glass things over his eyes.

“N-Noctis called them “glasses”.” He replied with a small smile. He had remembered, shown them that he cared.

“Do you know why I wear them?” He asked.

“No.” 

“They’re to help me see better. It’s not normal to see everything as a blur, everything should be as clear as if it’s right in front of your face.”

That sounded too incredible to believe, but 05953234 nodded anyway.

“When we get to Old Lestallum for the night, I’ll lend you my spare pair. Then we should be able to find an eye doctor in Lestallum who will be able to help you get your own. Does that sound amenable?”

Again, at a loss for what to say, 05953234 merely nodded.

 

* * *

 

“I believe they’re around here somewhere…” Ignis muttered, digging through a duffle bag, “A-ha!” He pulled out a black, hand-sized case, and opened it. The “glasses” inside looked identical to the ones Ignis was currently wearing, save a few scratches and a smattering of dust across the glass.

Ignis quickly wiped the glass clean and handed it to 05953234. 

As 05953234 slowly put the glasses on, the world sharpened into view. It wasn’t completely clear, but it was better. He could see the definite shape of Gladio’s head from about ten feet away, and see the outline of Noctis’ body from fifteen. 

His brain hurt to think that things could be this clear with such a simple piece of glass and metal. He wrapped his arms around Ignis and squeezed. He didn’t know why he did it, it just felt right. “Thank you…” He rasped. “Thank you  _ so much _ … For everything.”

Ignis’s arms wrapped around his shoulders, returning the hug with one of his own, and for a while, they just stood there. 05953234 buried his face in Ignis’ chest, trying to breathe away the emotion welling in his chest and up his throat. 

Eventually, 05953234 pulled away slowly and looked to the ground. 

“Yes, well, I’ll get started on dinner.” Ignis bustled away towards the kitchenette area. 

05953234 huddled in the window seat, tracing the metal arm of his glasses in awe. Things were so much clearer now, though still blurry, it was like waking up out of a dream. This entire trip with the Lucians had felt like such a dream that every night, he was afraid of waking back up in a storage pod, ready to be sent out on his next mission.

But despite it all, even if it  _ was _ all a dream (and part of him doubted it, doubted that his mind could be  _ this _ creative and think of things that are  _ this _ amazing in the outside world), at least he got a few nice memories to remember.

 

* * *

 

Throughout the entire dinner, 05953234 played a game of back-and-forth with himself. Should he tell them the name the others gave him, or should he keep quiet? They already had a name for him, would it be rude to refuse its use and insist upon his own? Plus, he wasn’t supposed to use his name, except with the others like him, he wasn’t  _ allowed _ to use his name. Though, logically, there was no one around to stop him. 

But a name was important. It marked him as different from the other MT’s. It marked him as human. Well,  _ more _ human.

There was a lull in the conversation as Noctis finished up a story about a huge fish that he had tried to catch. 05953234 took a deep, silent breath, and said as loudly as he dared, “Prompto.”

Gladio gave him a sideways look and raised an eyebrow. 

“Pardon?” Ignis asked.

“Um, Prompto.” 05953234 responded. He wanted to look them in the eye, show them his conviction, but he couldn’t. His body refused to cooperate. So he settled for looking at his hands clasped in his lap. “That… That was-  _ is _ my name.”

He glanced up and saw a variety of expressions, from confusion, to surprise, to something not entirely readable from Ignis.

“I-I mean, if you want to keep calling me Freckles, that’s okay, and I don’t mind, but, I thought- I thought that you might want to know the name I was given, and call me by that, b-but if you don’t, I don’t mind, really!”

There was a long,  _ agonizing _ pause, as 05953234 bowed his head again. He  _ shouldn’t _ have done that, Freckles was fine, they had a name, a name  _ they _ gave  _ him _ , but he had gone and ruined it, and now they probably thought that he was ungrateful and rude, and now they  _ really _ wouldn’t want him on their journey, and-

“Prompto. What a wonderful name,” Ignis said.

“Sounds dorky,” Noctis chimed in, “But I guess that means it suits you.”

“And here I was thinking it was some super-secret code,” Gladio said, “But a real name’s not half-bad either. Took you enough time to spit it out.”

That… that was unbelievable. Utterly unbelievable. Honestly, based on most of the journey, it really shouldn’t have been, but still. It was so nice to have it actually happen. He relaxed back in his chair and worked through his plate of long-bone steaks.

 

* * *

 

A half hour later, 0595324- no,  _ Prompto _ , had stepped out of the shower. It was nicer than the river, warmer and gentler. Unfortunately Ignis was not there to help him, but he had showed him how to use the two bottles, so Prompto was not left struggling.

He wanted so bad to stay under the warm stream of water, but forced himself out. He knew the others would would want to go to bed soon, and he was pretty tired as well. So he turned the knob until the water disappeared and stepped out into the cool air. It was bracing, like a wind whipping through the cabin of a dropship when the doors open, but this was better. Instead of being forced to fight for his life, he was surrounded by warmth and happiness.

He wrapped the towel around his shoulders as he slid into his new clothes. He wasn’t sure how Ignis had noticed that he liked them, but the man had a talent for doing the impossible, so he supposed it would be more unusual for him _ not _ to have been able to tell.

Distantly, he hoped that Ignis was willing to do that thing where they wrap their arms around each other; it felt so nice the first time. But as he stepped out into the hotel room, there was only Noctis, sitting on the edge of the bed and tapping on his phone.

He glanced up when Prompto came out, still shivering slightly from the shower. “Hey, Specs and Gladio are getting some supplies. They just left, so it’ll probably be about half an hour til they get back.”

Oh. It didn’t seem like Ignis would be able to do the arm-wrapping thing tonight after all. He didn’t want to be this disappointed about it, but he was.

It must have shown on his face, because Noctis set his phone down. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

Prompto just shook his head. He didn’t want to bother the  _ king _ with his pitiful need to be touched and held, not to mention this was  _ the king _ of  _ Lucis _ . He didn’t have time to bother with him.  _ Wouldn’t _ have time, even if he  _ wasn’t _ some sort of humanoid monstrosity. 

Noctis got to his feet and walked up to Prompto’s side. His brows furrowed as Prompto took an unconscious step back. His mind flashed back to the last time Noctis was this close, when the king had broken his nose and yelled at him for the destruction of Insomnia.

The king stopped short and scanned Prompto up and down. “Are…” He paused, “Are you scared of me?”

Slowly, Prompto nodded. Scared was definitely the right word.

“Oh. Um, I’m sorry. I- I didn’t mean to scare you, I...I guess I made a bad first impression, yeah?” He waited for Prompto to respond, but there was nothing really to say. “I was just…. Just so  _ angry _ . But I’m not angry anymore! At least, not at you. You’re… I dunno, a friend? Acquaintance sounds too informal, but, yeah, I guess I kinda think of you as a friend now? And I feel really bad for how we met.”

The words didn’t quite make sense. It was totally understandable for Noctis to be mad at him. Sure, he hadn’t been a part of the main attacking force, but he  _ had _ been a part of the support troops, securing the capital after the king had fallen and the Crystal been captured. Even if Noctis didn’t know this, his kind were the ones responsible, and he had done nothing to stop them.

Logically, there was nothing he could really do. He could have refused to fight, but that would have ended up with him getting dragged off to the incinerator for wartime treason, so he had ignored every voice in his head screaming for him to stop and pulled the trigger whenever he was ordered to do so.

“So, uh, let the past be the past?” Noctis offered, holding out his hand.

Prompto stared at it, unsure of what he was supposed to do. 

“I-it’s a handshake. You hold my hand in yours.” 

Uncertainly, Prompto obeyed. He had learned this grip in his hand-to-hand classes, and it  _ always _ ended in pain, and more often than not ended in him being pressed face-first into the the ground.

But Noctis didn’t whip Prompto around like a ragdoll, didn’t tear his arm behind his back and berate him for not reacting quickly enough. Instead, Noctis shook his hand up and down, gently, then let go, stuffing his hands into his pocket. “So… We still got a while til the adults come back. Wanna play King’s Knight or something?”

Prompto cocked his head to the side. “Wh… what is King’s Knight?”

“It’s a game. On your phone. Here,” Noctis beckoned him closer to sit on the edge of the bed. Timidly, Prompto obeyed. “You see, that’s your “hero”. The main character, basically. You can choose three other sidekicks to accompany you. I have a barbarian, a paladin, and a ranger, but you can customize that. Anyway, there are a lot of dungeons for you to explore, and quests to do, and all the money you get during those quests and dungeons allows you to improve your home base.”

Noctis kept droning on and on about bonuses, and experience, and things that flew right over Prompto’s head. But his voice was soothing, and soon Prompto found himself leaning into Noctis’ shoulder. He was about to shove himself away and apologize for crossing a line when he realized that one of Noctis’ arms was wrapped loosely around his shoulders, all gentle contact. 

He sunk into the contact for a second and then pulled back. Noctis looked at him, surprised, about to say something, but Prompto cut him off. “Can…” he looked down and bit his lip uncertainly. “Th- the thing with the arms, that Ignis did… Can we… I mean, if you want to, can…” He sputtered.

“The thing that Ignis did?” Noctis looked confused, “Cooking?”

Prompto shook his head, “No, you were, you were kinda doing it… just now.”

Realization dawned on Noctis’ face, “Oh… you mean a hug? D’you… you want a hug?”

“I, uh, yeah. A little.” Prompto felt his face heat up, but the need for contact was so intense that he shoved the feeling aside.

“Well, then, come here.” Noctis shifted slightly so that he was kneeling on the bed itself, then he wrapped his arms around Prompto, drawing him closer and twisting him around slightly until they were chest to chest. Then, Noctis flopped down, dragging Prompto down with him so the blond was on top of him. 

After a few seconds, Prompto overcame the surprise and wrapped his own arms around Noctis’ shoulders, holding tight and burying his head into the other’s shoulder.

Noctis rubbed light circles on his upper back, just between his shoulder blades, and Prompto could  _ feel _ himself melting into the touch. A sound embarrassingly like a whimper fell out of his mouth before he could stop it, and he tightened his grip on Noctis.

“Thank you,” He whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: to accurately describe living with blurry vision, I took off my glasses and walked around my neighborhood for a solid hour. The things I do for fanfics...


	8. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After hearing about the devastation at the Crown City, Prompto lets slip his own involvement in the affair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess whose PS4 broke literally a day before the Assassin's Creed dlc came out???? THIS GIRL! I'M NOT MAD, NO, NOT AT ALL :DDDDDD.
> 
> Bonus for y'all, I spent all that extra time writing up a storm, so like, yay.

The next morning, Noctis woke up to arms wrapped tightly around him. He faintly remembered coaxing a trembling Prompto to sleep in his arms last night, but he didn’t remember falling asleep. Opening his eyes, he found himself practically face to face with Prompto.

The blond’s face was peaceful and open, eyebrows upturned slightly and mouth slack. Those freckles Noctis had named him for were so close that he could count every single one. With a smile, Noctis slowly started to unlatch Prompto’s arms from his neck. Though, at the first movement, Prompto opened bleary eyes and yawned.

He locked eyes with Noctis and blinked slowly, then unwrapped his arms and sat up. “Sorry,” He muttered.

Noctis followed his lead, rubbing his eyes to clear the sleepiness away. “Nah, ‘s okay. Sleep good?” He asked, glancing around the room for a sign of the other occupants.

“Uh-huh. Thanks,” He replied nervously, “You?”

“Yeah.” Noctis got to his feet and examined the note on the bedside table. It was in Ignis’ neat handwriting:

_ Noctis and Prompto,  _

_ Gladio and I are turning in the hunt. We will be back around 10:15. If you wake up first, there are leftovers in the mini fridge, we’ll be leaving for Lestallum after we check out. _

Noctis handed the note over to Prompto to read, then stumbled over to the fridge. According to the clock, they still had ten minutes until the others came back, and he was  _ hungry _ . 

“Hey, what d’you want for breakfast? There’s… There’s some leftover pancakes, cereal, or you can have some of those steak things we had last night?”

Prompto was silent for a bit, and for a second, Noctis thought that he hadn’t heard, but then Prompto piped up, “”Pancakes, please.”

By the time Ignis and Gladio arrived back at the hotel room, Prompto and Noctis were working their way through the last of the pancakes and talking about King’s Knight.

“I see you two haven’t destroyed the place in our absence. Quite a surprise, though I suppose you might have gotten up a bit too late to do that?” Ignis asked with a slight smile.

“Still too early to be up,” Noctis grumbled.

“Yes, well, admittedly, I didn’t expect you to be, but perhaps we can check out early and get a head start on our journey to Lestallum? It shouldn’t take more than an hour or two,”

Noctis nodded, and the group got to work quickly packing up their things. Prompto finished first, since he only owned some clothes, and he started helping Ignis pack.  

It hurt, a little, to see Prompto so blatantly favoring Ignis. The blond looked like he would make a great friend, like someone Noctis could see himself hanging out with late into the night. But he seemed to be clinging to Ignis like an introvert clings to their only friend at a big party. 

It made sense, of course, since Ignis had consistently treated Prompto well, ever since they first captured him… how long ago was it? A week? Gods, it had only been a week, and Prompto had so easily inserted himself into their group. They really sucked at being mean. Either that, or Prompto made it way too hard to  _ be _ mean.

Either way, a pang of jealousy made him turn back to his own bag and shove things inside a little  _ too _ forcefully. Why should he care? They barely  _ knew _ the kid, only had vague ideas that he had a  _ really shitty _ childhood, was abused. They had only recently gotten glimpses of his personality, like when he laughed at Ignis’ puns, or looked wide-eyed at every sunrise as if it was his first, or ate Ignis’ food with wonder. 

But still, Noctis wanted to help. He couldn’t see the Niff soldier anymore, all that was left was a person in need of a friend or three. 

“Hey Prom, c’mere for a sec,” Noctis said, waving him over with a hand.

Prompto stood frozen in place, looking at Noctis in confusion, “Who’s ‘Prom’?” He asked softly.

Noctis froze, just now realizing that he had given Prompto a nickname. “Oh, uh, it’s… it’s you, if you like the name. It’s a nickname,” He explained.

“What’s a nickname?” Prompto asked, starting to come over.

“It’s like… it’s like a shortened form of your name. Like we call him Gladio, but his real name’s Gladiolus. Or we call Ignis Iggy, or you call me Noct instead of Noctis,” He said, taking in Prompto’s nervous expression. “I-if you don’t like it, you don’t need to have one, I-

“Is it okay?” Prompto asked, “To have more than one name?”

Something in Noctis’ chest twinged painfully, “Yeah, it’s okay. Do you like the name?”

Prompto nodded slowly, a look of wonder crossing his face, “I do.”

“Cool. Then, Prom, take a look at this!” Noctis changed the angle of his phone so Prompto could get a better view, “There’s a special event going on now, extra dungeons are popping up, so we can get a bunch of experience in a short amount of time. Wanna try it out?”

Prompto looked confused for a second, then reached out to take the phone from Noctis.

“Perhaps we should wait until we are all checked out for the day? We really must be on our way to Lestallum, we’ve waited long enough.”

That was probably the wrong thing to say, as Prompto snatched his hand back with a quiet, “Sorry”, but Ignis was already out the door again, lugging his suitcase back to the car. Noctis clapped Prompto on the shoulder and smiled.

“He’s not mad. He just hates relaxing too much,” Noctis paused, that wasn’t quite right, “He doesn’t like doing nothing,” He corrected. 

Prompto nodded slowly and got to his feet, handing Noctis the last of his clothes scattered over the ground. Noctis smiled and stuffed the last of his belongings into the duffel, swinging an arm around Prompto’s shoulders and practically dragging him along. 

“C’mon,” he said, “I’ll show you in the car.”

 

* * *

 

In fact, Noctis did  _ not _ show Prompto in the car. He meant to, but Prompto was busy, talking quietly with Ignis, and the rumbling of the engine was relaxing, and he was still tired, and the seats were comfy. 

When he woke up, he noticed the car wasn’t moving, and he was alone in the car. He struggled to consciousness, heart pounding, thinking of everything that could have gone wrong. But as he looked out the rolled-down window, he saw Gladio and Ignis several feet away, and Prompto right outside the door.

“Um, sorry, but the others said you gotta get up.”

Noctis groaned, but swung the door open, “Fiiiiine,” He grumbled. “We’re there already?” He asked, craning his neck to try and see the city, but the parking must have been on a different level, because all he saw was the tops of buildings.

“Yeah. Did you sleep through the whole ride?” Prompto asked as they rejoined Gladio and Ignis.

“I mean, not the  _ whole _ ride.” Noctis flushed with embarrassment.

“Just ninety-nine percent of it,” Gladio interjected.

Noctis turned away, ignoring Gladio’s continued jeers, “C’mon, let’s see Iris already.”

He lead the way up the stone staircase and into the heart of Lestallum.

“One hell of a crowd,” Prompto murmured, stepping closer to Ignis.

“This must be the main thoroughfare,” Ignis responded, placing a gentle hand on Prompto’s back and leading him forward. Noctis slowed down, taking up Prompto’s other side as Gladio checked his phone.

“She’s at the Leville,” He said, tucking his phone back into his pocket, “Let’s go.”

They kept up a brisk pace, quickly peeling off into the less-populated side roads before coming to a stop in front of a quaint building tucked into a corner. 

But before they could get away from the sweltering heat of the afternoon sun, the ground beneath them shifted, and a stabbing pain shot through Noctis’ head. Unbidden, images of an angry, amber eye flew through his mind. The tremor stopped, and with it, the pain in his head.

He hissed at the lingering pain, rubbing his forehead with a hand.

“What’s wrong?” Ignis asked, glancing sidelong at Noctis.

Noctis shrugged, “My head just started throbbing,” He explained. It had dulled down to a faint pressure, but it still kinda hurt.

“You alright?” Prompto touched his shoulder lightly, and Noctis met his gaze with a barely-strained smile.

“Yeah, I’m alright.” He lead them into the air-conditioned lobby just as a familiar figure was walking down the stairs. 

Iris caught a glimpse of them and leaned over the rail, waving frantically at them. “Gladdy!” She called, “Look at you guys, holding your own out there!” She hurried over to them, stopping short at the sight of Prompto standing between Ignis and Prompto. “Who are you?” She asked.

Prompto looked like a deer caught in the headlights, looking from Ignis, to Noctis, to Iris. “I-uh, I… my name is Prompto.” He stammered.

“Gladio, did you not tell your sister about our new travelling companion?” Ignis glared at Gladio, who shrunk under the advisor’s gaze. Gladio’s silence told more than his words ever could, and Iris laughed.

“Sounds about right. Hi Prompto, I’m Iris!” Iris stuck her hand out, and Prompto grabbed it warily. Iris gave it a gentle shake, then stepped back to ask her brother, “You guys are staying here, right?”

“That’s the plan,” Ignis interjected.

“When you have time, we have some catching up to do,” Gladio added. He didn’t say it, but Noctis could tell he didn’t mean about her road trip. And Noctis had to admit, he was hungry for any details about the attack on Insomnia that  _ don’t _ come from second- or third-hand sources or trashy magazines.

“Sure!” Iris tried to keep up the façade of happiness, but it cracked slightly as she turned away. “Follow me,” 

Noctis quickly fell into step next to her as she led them to their room she had secured earlier. She opened the door with a silly bow and said, “Welcome to your humble abode!”

The others quickly filed in.

“Jared and Talcott should be comin-” Iris was cut off as the door clicked and swung open. 

Noctis only barely recognized Jared, he was one of hundreds of servants, and not even one of his, but the man practically raised Gladio, so Noctis made a conscious effort that only half paid off. Talcott, however, was a veritable ball of energy that refused to be forgotten. He had only met the kid twice, and every time, Talcott asked Noctis to play a silly game. He tried to refuse, say he’s too busy, but Talcott opened his eyes wide, fluttering his lashes innocently with the slightest hint of a pout on his face, and boom, all self-control went out the window.

This time was no different. 

“Jared, Talcott, is it good to see you.” Gladio said, relief flooding his features.

“Prince Noctis!” Talcott said excitedly, pressing his fist over his heart “Iris is safe with me!”

“Please excuse my grandson,” Jared said, bending down to try and look at Talcott disapprovingly. When Talcott didn’t meet his eyes, instead staring at Noctis in open adoration, he sighed and straightened, “He has yet to learn his manners.”

Noctis didn’t hold back a smile, “I like it,” He said. Talcott wasn’t staring at him in open-mouthed wonder because he was the prin-king. He was staring at him because he was Noctis, and Noctis was cool. It felt pretty neat.

“Your Highness is kind, but we shan’t impose.”

“A  _ very _ good night to you, Your Highness,” Talcott mirrored his grandpa’s mannerisms and bowed before turning to follow Jared out the door.

Iris shut the door behind them, and the mood immediately sombered. Noctis sat down in one of the loveseats, while Iris took the other one. Prompto sat next to Ignis on the bed, while Gladio stayed standing, out of punching distance of anything or anyone fragile.

“So, Iris…” Noctis said slowly, “What were things like inside the Crown City?”

 

* * *

 

Iris hadn’t given them much information other than “most of Insomnia made it out pretty okay”, and “Lady Lunafreya passed through here”, but it was more than they had known previously, and Noctis honestly preferred that she  _ didn’t _ have more firsthand experience. He couldn’t imagine how terrified she must have been, when the entire city was crashing in around her.

“Well, now’s a good a time as any to eat, isn’t it?” Ignis said, clapping his hands together lightly. 

Noctis almost snorted. Ignis had this ability to always be in the mood for cooking, much like Noctis himself was always in the mood for napping. “Yeah, I’m hungry for whatever.”

Prompto nodded his agreement. “Same, your food is  _ amazing _ , Iggy.” 

“I saw a Cup Noodle stand by the parking-”

“No.” Ignis said sharply, “We are not eating Cup Noodles for dinner when the suite Iris so helpfully provided us has the amenities required to cook.”

“But-”

“No.”

Gladio deflated, then he looked at the back of Ignis’ head as the brunet examined what he had to work with. “I’m gonna go catch up a bit more with Iris,” He said, glancing now at Prompto and Noctis. “Y’know, brother-sister things.”

“Very well. Do try to be back within an hour.”

Gladio nodded, then quickly left.

“You know he’s probably gonna go to that Cup Noodle stand, right?”

“That’s why I’m making his favorite meal tonight. If he fills up on Cup Noodles, he’ll miss the Prime Garula Rib I’m cooking.

“Ouch, harsh,” Noctis winced, pulling out his phone. “Hey, Prom,” He said, sitting next to Prompto on the bed, “I realized I never got to show you the King’s Knight event.”

Prompto nodded quickly, leaning over Noctis’ shoulder. 

“So, yeah, this dungeon should be pretty easy. All you have to do is tap on the enemies, that’s how you fill up the power bar here. Once the power bar gets to different levels, you can do different ultimate moves. Your other party members are automatic, you don’t get to control them, but sometimes they’ll do a little dance, and that means their special attack is ready.”

He shot a glance at Prompto, who was already starting to look a little overwhelmed. “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine. Just keep tapping on the enemy.” He handed the phone to Prompto, who shoved his hands between his legs, looking down.

“N-no, it’s okay, I shouldn- I don’t want to.” He said. He wouldn’t look at Noctis, and he flinched when Noctis leaned forward. 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay if you don’t want to, don’t be scared.” Noctis said. Something must have been the matter, because Prompto was doing so well, he hadn’t acted scared of them all day today, and he was smiling and laughing and giving his opinion, and now… and now he was regressing back into who he was a few days ago.

Noctis put the phone into sleep mode and set it aside. “D’you wanna talk? About… about whatever’s on your mind?”

Prompto whipped his head up, meeting Noctis’ gaze with his own frightened one, “What are you talking about? Nothing’s wrong,” He said, too quickly for there  _ not _ to be something wrong.

“Hey, whatever it is, I won’t be mad at you, okay? You can tell me anything.” Noctis kept Prompto’s gaze, trying to telepathically send vibes of good will. 

“I-” Prompto started to speak, then he looked down and snapped his mouth shut. “It’s nothing.”

“Prompto…” Noctis said with more patience than he knew he had, “Please, I can tell that something’s upsetting you, and I don’t want you to feel upset.”

There was a long silence, and Noctis was sure that Prompto wasn’t going to say anything, but just as he was going to grab his phone again and maybe do some grinding in King’s Knight, Prompto said, “I was in Insomnia.”

Noctis froze, then blinked once, twice. “Oh.” He managed to keep his voice level. He bit back the flare of anger burning in his chest, that  _ Prompto _ had been part of the attack on Insomnia, that there was the  _ slightest chance _ that Prompto had seen the king fall, even been a part of it. It wasn’t fair to Prompto, he had just been doing what he had to do to survive.

“I-yeah.” Prompto’s voice was tight with held-back tears. “I-I wasn’t a part of the main force, though I knew… I knew people, like me,  _ human _ , that were, but, I… I was part of the secondary wave, after… after everything happened,” He said, tears starting to stream down his freckled cheeks.

Guilt panged in Noctis’ chest and he held out his arms. “Hey,” He said quietly. “Will a hug help you feel better?” He asked.

Prompto seemed to think for a second before nodding slowly. 

Noctis slowly wrapped his arms around Prompto’s shoulders, drawing him close so Prompto was pressed close to his chest. “Oh!” Noctis said, “Oh no, we’re going down!” He crooned, dragging Prompto down sideways onto the bed.

Prompto yelped, then dissolved into a burst of giggles, wrapping his own arms under Noctis’ arms and curling in. He was silent for a moment, then quietly, “Thank you,”

Noctis gave a small laugh and ruffled Prompto’s hair. “What for?”

Prompto shrugged, “Not being mad, I guess. Not every day your… your friend?” He looked at Noctis for confirmation and pinked when he got it, “Not every day your friend tells you he was a part of the invasion of your home.”

“Yeah, but it’s not every day you make friends with an enemy soldier,” He grinned back.

Prompto stiffened for a brief second, then relaxed again. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”


	9. An Unfortunate Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the great city of Lestallum, Prompto meets someone he had hoped never to see again

This time, Prompto fell asleep next to Noctis after a hearty meal of some kind of meat. It wasn’t quite Prompto’s favorite thing that Ignis has made (that honor goes to what Ignis called “Green Curry Soup”), but it was so much better than what he was given by the scientists during his daily checkups, so he scarfed it down anyways.

Now, as he woke up, he felt… content. Noctis’ arms were draped around his waist, and his head was tucked into Prompto’s chest, soft breaths puffing in and out. He reached down to brush a few strands of hair away from the king’s nose, humming in content as he caught a better glimpse of Noctis’ face. 

“Ah, Prompto, good to see you awake. Talcott wanted to take us on a tour of Lestallum. Would you be amenable as well?”

Prompto looked up at Ignis, then down at Noctis, tangled up in his limbs. “I-I don’t want to wake him,” He said. He  _ really _ wanted to see more of this beautiful city, but it would be rude to do wake up Noctis, who had been so nice to him lately.

Ignis snorted. “Believe you me, you would have to actively try to wake His Majesty up, and even then, it’s an uphill battle. Simply push him away. It’s what Gladio and I do.”

But Prompto didn’t think that was a good idea. Sometimes he still overestimated his strength, and no matter what Ignis said, he was pretty sure Noctis was going to wake up if he ended up on the floor. So he carefully moved Noctis’ limbs away from him, then quickly scooted off the bed. Noctis mumbled slightly, but just curled over the heat left by Prompto’s body and stilled.

“Told you,” Ignis said with a smile. “Now, Talcott won’t be around for at least an hour and a half. Gladio is out with his sister, so now is a good a time as any to see if we can’t find a decent pair of glasses for you.

Prompto touched the sides of his glasses lightly, face flushing hot. “Y-you don’t have to. These…. These are nice. Better than I’m used to.”

“They might be better than you’re used to, but they’re certainly not nice. You should have your own prescription, and honestly, it doesn’t cost much in the grand scheme of things. If we visit an eye doctor’s, you can also get contact instead, if glasses are not to your liking.” Ignis moved to beckon him out the door. Prompto barely had time to pull on a pair of shorts and shoes before Ignis was striding down the hotel hallway.

“What are contacts?” He asked.

“They function the same way as glasses, but they go directly on your eyes. Some people prefer them because they think glasses are inconvenient. But it depends on the person.”

“So...So they’re like enhancements?”

Ignis paused, considering the question as they ventured out of the safety of the hotel’s air conditioning. “No, “enhancements” suggest bettering what’s already good. These are like… they’re like crutches, almost. They better what needs bettering.”

Prompto didn’t quite understand the analogy, but he nodded anyway. “Okay. Does...do the tests hurt?”

“No, they shouldn’t. There is a test that could be considered a mild annoyance, but nothing outright painful.”

That didn’t sound too bad. A mild annoyance was a twisted ankle, or a jammed finger, or Noctis’ music when he was allowed to play his favorite music in the car. He could deal with a mild annoyance.

They stopped in front of a small store with a bright red sign that said, “Come in, We’re open!”. So they came in.

“Hello, there!” A squat young man said from behind a counter, “How can I help you gentlemen today?”

Prompto froze. Was he going to be expected to talk? 

But before Prompto could stammer out a response, Ignis stepped forward smoothly and said with a smile, “Hello, yes, Prompto here needs an eye exam. It’s been quite a while since his last one, so this one is rather terribly out of date.”

The man nodded, tapping on his computer. “And have you visited us before?” 

“No, I’m afraid this is our first time here. Though I was a patient at the Insomnia location.”

The man looked up, locking eyes with Ignis at the word “Insomnia”. “Ah, I see. Of course, I’ll just get him registered.” He shuffled papers around for a few seconds, before handing a clipboard to Prompto. “Just need you to fill these out for us, sir, then we’ll be able to get you in. Dr. Overla has a few openings this morning.”

Prompto took the papers blankly, unsure of what he should be doing, until Ignis directed him over to a chair. They sat down together, and Prompto stared pleadingly at Ignis, hoping to communicate his need for assistance without actually saying anything.

“Do you need help with that?” Ignis asked in a low voice.

Prompto nodded gratefully, shifting the clipboard so Ignis could see the words. They were written in Lucian letters, and he had never  _ learned _ Lucian letters, only the language. The scientists said it was because he would never need to read or write Lucian, only understand when it was spoken, to understand enemy battle movements and the like.

Ignis pointed at the top line. “What’s your full name?”

Prompto furrowed his eyebrows, hadn’t he  _ said _ his name? “Prompto,” He replied.

“No, do you have a last name?” 

“What’s a last name?”

“It’s a family name. It goes after your first name. “Do you remember your parents? They should have a last name.”

Prompto thought. The old scientist, the short man with the long white hair, he had often called them his “sons”, so he supposed that made the man his father, didn’t it? He remembered the name clearly: Verstael Besithia.

“Besithia.” Prompto responded.

“What?” Ignis managed to keep his voice down to a respectable level, but his grip on his phone tightened, “You don’t mean Verstael Besithia? He’s your father?”

Prompto shrugged, eyes skittering off to the side. 

Ignis cleared his throat. “Pardon my rudeness. I suppose we can make one up. How does “Argentum” sound? It matches your first name,” He said with a sly grin, as if it was funny, but Prompto didn’t quite understand. 

Prompto shrugged. “Sounds good.”

“Then why don’t you write it down?” Ignis asked, pointing to the pen slid into the clipboard’s clip. 

“Wh-I…I don’t know how.” He admitted, staring at a spot on the floor. When he dared look up again, Ignis was staring at him impassively.

“My apologies,” He said, “I wasn’t thinking properly. I can fill all that out for you, if you’d like.”

Prompto passed over the clipboard to Ignis, who took it and quickly started writing. Occasionally, he would ask questions that Prompto couldn’t answer. Then he would pause for a second before scribbling a few lines. Then he turned in the form and they waited patiently until an older man stepped out from a door and called out, “Prompto?”

With a gentle smile, Ignis motioned for Prompto to stand up and follow the man into the room. It was nice and cozy, but vaguely reminiscent of the recalibration rooms. Unconsciously, Prompto took a step back, clutching Ignis’ hand in panic. But the rational, logical part of his mind reminded himself that Ignis wouldn’t do anything to hurt him, that this old man was going to  _ help _ him.

So instead of trying to fight his way out of the room, he squared his shoulders and sat down in the chair. He wasn’t scared, not if Ignis said he had nothing to be scared of.

 

* * *

 

“So,” Ignis asked with a grin as they walked out of the eye doctor’s shop. “A gil for your thoughts?” 

“I-I can see!” Prompto giggled, throwing himself at Ignis in ecstatic glee, “I can  _ see! _ And it’s not blurry or twisted or anything, even that mountain, I can  _ see _ , Ignis!” Delight burrowed himself in his chest and did a little dance. It was worth it,  _ so _ worth it, to sit in that chair, so much like the recalibration room, and have metal things pressed against his face, and to be stuck in a claustrophobic space. Now, he could see.

Ignis laughed, ruffling his hair, “Yes, glasses are quite wonderful, and I must say, the frames do look dashing on you.”

Prompto blushed, pushing the glasses up on his nose with his knuckle. “You’re the one who helped me pick them out, and you helped me see, and you…. You saved me,” Prompto trailed off, tears prickling the corners of his eyes, “And I’m so grateful, for everything you’ve done, and I want to repay you. I-I know you want me to stay here, to be safe, but…. But I want to stay with you and the others!”

He buried his face into Ignis’ shoulder, wrapping his arms tightly around the other man’s chest.

Ignis stepped back slightly, then returned the hug with a sigh, “If that is what you truly wish, who am I to stop you?” 

A short chime sounded from Ignis’ pocket, and he fished out his phone, glanced at it, then tapped at the surface a few times. “That’s Gladio. Talcott is ready to give us a tour, we just have to meet him in the main square.”

With a nod, Prompto stepped back to fall into step beside Ignis. With a surge of confidence he didn’t know he had, Prompto slipped his hand into Ignis’, the way he saw some people around him walking.

Ignis looked at him curiously, but didn’t say anything. 

Warmth bloomed in his chest. If the rest of his life was like this past week had been, he hoped he would live for a  _ long _ time. It was a weird feeling, to be so dead-set on living. For most of his life, he had been rather ambivalent on the topic. If he lived, he lived. If he died, he died. But now, as he tightened his grip around Ignis’, he knew that he was going to fight with everything he had to keep  _ this, _ what he had right here.

 

* * *

 

Talcott was even more fun than Noctis. He liked to skip around and chase crows on the ground and say hello to everyone they passed, even the old man sprawled out across some chairs in the main square.

Earlier, Talcott had lead them to the more residential area of Lestallum, pointing a bit further west, “I heard that there’s an ancient sword hidden under a waterfall a little ways that way, by Callatein’s Plunge. The myths say the sword is  _ super _ powerful, but only the worthy can use it. I wonder if  _ I  _ would be worthy…” He hummed. 

Next to Prompto, Ignis turned to glance at Gladio. “Ancient sword? Only wielded by the “worthy”? Certainly sounds like a Royal Arm to me,” He said. Gladio nodded. 

“You said it was behind Callatein’s Plunge, kid?” Gladio asked.

Talcott nodded emphatically, “Yup! All the legends say that it’s there, but it’s  _ super _ dangerous. Treasure hunters have gone in,  _ but no one has come out again _ .” Talcott said with a scary voice. “At least, I think. I don’t know.”

“Well, I certainly don’t think a treasure hunter has anything on Gladio or myself, not to mention Noctis or Prompto. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

Talcott’s eyes widened, “You’re gonna go looking for the sword? Why? Don’t you already have, like, a  _ million _ ?”

Ignis laughed, but Prompto had to agree with the boy. They certainly had some nice weapons, did they really need to risk their lives for a “Royal Arm”? Whatever that was?

“Yes, Noctis has a  _ million _ swords,” Ignis agreed, “But this sounds like a Royal Arm. Have you read about those?” When Talcott shook his head, Ignis continued, “I’m not surprised, knowledge of their existence is rather sparse. Royal Arms are weapons held by previous kings. The line of Lucis has the ability to absorb these weapons into their Armigers and use them in battle for devastating damage.”

Prompto’s eyes widened. He hadn’t realized how much power the Crystal truly gave the Lucian kings. Sure, warping and magic and spontaneous weapon access was pretty nice, but to be able to absorb weapons and use them in a tight spot? That was pretty cool.

“Oh,  _ wow _ !” Talcott said, eyes wide with excitement, “That sounds so  _ cool _ ! I wanna see them!”

Ignis laughed again, “I’m sure His Majesty wouldn’t be opposed to showing it off.”

Then, Talcott led the around more of Lestallum, finishing up with the power plant. “And  _ this _ powers  _ aaalllll _ of Lestallum! It uses energy from the Meteor! Or, something. The book didn’t say much.” He pouted. “But I  _ do _ know that only women work there! Something about the magic affecting men in weird ways after they worked there a while.”

Prompto looked at the entrance to the power plant. He could catch glimpses of figures in large suits that seemed to cover all of their bodies, but even with his newly-sharpened eyesight, he couldn’t see much more than that.

“Quite informative, I must say, Talcott.” Ignis patted the boy’s shoulder gently, a warm smile on his face. A strange feeling panged through Prompto’s body. He wanted Ignis’s smile and touch, he wanted it so bad, but Talcott was  _ stealing _ it from him, and-

No. Ignis had mentioned this feeling, when Noctis complained that Prompto got more treats than him, “ _ Don’t be jealous, Majesty. No one wants to be with a spoiled brat.” _ Was this feeling, this irrational anger… jealousy? Was he jealous of Talcott? Yes, that must have been it, because he had no reason to be angry at Talcott.

“Hey, Iris said she’s just about done showing Noct the sights. You guys set to head back to the hotel?”

Talcott nodded emphatically, taking the steps towards the main street two at a time. “Well, he’s sure a firecracker,” Gladio said with a smirk.

“Quite.” Ignis agreed, motioning for Prompto to follow. 

Prompto obeyed, pressing close to Ignis’ side and interlacing their fingers. Even if he recognized this feeling as jealousy, it didn’t make it any easier to deal with the hurt he felt. So, instead of waiting around and asking for contact, he was going to take it. 

Ignis looked surprised at the sudden contact, although Prompto had done it earlier, but made no move to disengage. 

Talcott led the way back to the hotel they were staying at (the  _ Leville _ , he thought), not even glancing back to see if the others were following him until he was halfway up the stairs to the lobby. Now that  _ he _ was touching Ignis instead of  _ Talcott _ , he didn’t feel so mad, he felt… a little empty, an almost sickening flashback to when he had first met the others. But he simply readjusted his grip on Ignis’ hand and walked into the bracing iciness of the lobby.

He felt eyes on the back of his neck and whirled around to see Gladio staring at him, one eyebrow raised. A few days ago, he probably would have panicked, worried that he had done something wrong and was going to be punished for it. But now he only cocked his head to the side, trying to tamp down on this feeling of fear that rushed through him. He knew he wasn’t going to be punished, he was  _ positive _ of it. Didn’t mean he didn’t feel a thrill of fear every time someone looked at him funny.

“You two get together without me knowing about it?” He asked with a lopsided grin.

Okay, now Prompto was confused. “I-I don’t- what are you talking about?”

From the other side, Ignis cleared his throat. “I’m sure Prompto simply doesn’t understand the implications of people holding hands for extended periods of time.” He told Gladio, then turned to Prompto. 

“Typically,” He started, “People hold hands for extended periods of time to show their affection for and attraction to another. When two people hold hands like this, it generally means they are in a romantic relationship.  _ However _ ,” Ignis’ voice turned ever-so-slightly sharp as he turned back to Gladio, “It is not definitive proof, and many close friends hold hands as well.”

Prompto wanted to ask what a “romantic relationship” was, but before he could ask, Noctis returned with the girl who had told them all about Insomnia. 

“Now, Talcott,” Ignis said, bending down slightly so he could catch Talcott’s eye, “Why don’t you tell His Majesty about the story you told us?”

“You got it!” Talcott bounced on his heels, but was quickly stilled by Jared’s hand on his shoulder. 

“Oh, come now, show some respect,” he admonished.

Ignis waved a hand, “Oh that’s not necessary, His Majesty certainly doesn’t show it, so you needn’t either.”

“So, there’s this legend about a sword. An’ the sword’s supposed to be behind a waterfall nearby,” Talcott continued, less energetic under Jared’s keen eye.

“May very well be one of the lost tombs,” Ignis said.

“Wanna check it out?” Gladio asked.

Noctis shrugged, “For sure. Thanks for the tip, Talcott.”

“You’re welcome!”

 

* * *

 

Honestly, for as hot as Lestallum was, Prompto was relieved (and a little confused) to discover that the cave was icy and cold. At least for the first twenty minutes. Then it was a Gralean  _ nightmare _ . Luckily, they were moving enough to keep warm, but it was still a relief to tumble back to the entrance of the cave. “I know I won’t miss that place one  _ bit _ .” He hissed, wiping slime off his gloves.

“Augh!” Noct yelped, almost tumbling to his hands and knees. 

Prompto was at his side in an instant, offering support. “Noct, you okay?”  He placed one hand on Noctis’ back gently, keeping the other one free in case Noctis stumbled to the ground.

Noctis leaned into the touch, breathing heavily. “What did I- where was that?”

Gladio and Ignis came closer, stances worried and protective.

“What is it?” Gladio asked, eyebrows furrowing slightly.

“A hole in the ground, something burning… The Meteor?” He looked up, and caught Prompto’s worried gaze.

“You saw the Disc of Cauthess?” Ignis sounded disbelieving, but Prompto didn’t quite understand it. Noctis flew around thanks to a giant lump of rock, how unbelievable was it that he could see visions?

Noctis turned to look at Ignis and nodded slowly, straightening up as much as he dared. 

“Well, let’s make our way back to Lestallum.” Gladio said, moving to lead the way.

Prompto waited for Noctis to pass, keeping a close eye on him. “Yeah, gotta report in to Talcott.”

Despite Noctis’ assurances that he was  _ fine, Prompto _ , Prompto stayed close, ready to swoop in to keep the young king from falling off the rocks they were climbing and cracking his head open.  

Even during the car ride back to Lestallum, Prompto kept glancing back at Noctis in the rearview mirror worriedly. He  _ said _ he was okay, but he was still rubbing his head absentmindedly and wincing occasionally.

“Ugh, this sucks,” Noctis moaned. “Gladio, gimme your phone, I wanna play King’s Knight.”

“Don’t you have your own damn phone?”

“”S almost outta battery. Gimme,” Noctis made a grabby motion with his hand, a sign Prompto had quickly learned was just as good as a royal order.

“Fine, princess. Just be careful with it.”

“‘Course. Lemme just toss it out of the fucking car,” Noct grumbled, waking up his Shield’s phone. Then he turned bright red. “ _ Gladio!  _ What the  _ fuck!  _ Why is this your lock screen picture? When did you even take this?”

Prompto turned around in his seat as Gladio guffawed.

“This morning. You and blondie there looked so cute all cuddled up together, I couldn’t  _ help _ myself!”

Ignis sighed, “I did tell him it was in poor taste, but he insisted.”

“Wh-wait,” Prompto said, “What’s going on? What’re you laughing about?”

Gladio made a move to take the phone, snatching it easily although Noctis tried to stop him. He shoved the phone into Prompto’s hands 

Prompto looked at it, but it was dark. Sleep mode, he knew. He also knew that to get it out of sleep mode you press the big middle button. When he did, the screen lit up to reveal a picture of… was that him and Noctis… sleeping? Noctis was burrowed into Prompto’s side, and Prompto had his arms wrapped around the king’s shoulders. Oh, god, there was photographic evidence of that. 

He dropped the phone with an embarrassed squeak. He could already feel his face flushing even though he didn’t really understand why he was embarrassed. Contact was no longer considered bad or punishable. So why was he still so…  _ ashamed _ about it?

“Hey, kid, if it really upsets you that much, I’ll delete it.”

“Oh, you’ll delete it for  _ him _ , but not for your fucking king,” Noctis grumbled, leaning his head against the window.

“Yeah, ‘cause the king is an annoying brat. Prompto here’s more tolerable.”

“N-no, it’s okay, I don’t mind!” Prompto said quickly before their bickering turned into a full on quarrel. He grabbed the phone then held it back out to Gladio. “It-it’s nice.” With that, he turned to face the front.

“See, the kid’s got a good eye on him. He can see the real beauty.”

Prompto jumped as a door swung closed. He had been so focused on ignoring his rising embarrassment that he hadn’t realized they had already parked. He hurried out of the car and next to Noctis, who denied his offer of assistance. Instead, he lead the way back to the Leville. 

Noctis made it through just a few seconds of conversation with Jared when his body suddenly spasmed, and he ground his palm into his eye. 

“Ugh… Not  _ again _ …” He muttered.

Iris beat Prompto to Noctis’ side, and she bent over, peering up at him worriedly. “What’s the matter? You alright?”

“He’ll be fine,” Gladio waved his sister off, “Don’t worry.” He turned to the others and said, “We oughta take a closer look at this so-called “Disc””

A sudden thought flashed through Prompto, and he remembered part of the tour Talcott gave them. “Then look no further than the Outlook. We can use the viewer-things!”

Ignis hummed thoughtfully. “No substitute for being on-site, but it  _ would _ be a start. Let’s see what we can glean of Noct’s condition.”

Noct shrugged and started off towards the platform at a brisk trot. Prompto stayed close to his side, in case he got hit with a sudden pain and stumbled. But Noctis was steady as he paved the way to their objectives. 

However, as they rounded the bend to get the best possible viewer, a chillingly familiar figure turned around, and Prompto felt his entire body go numb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^.^


	10. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mysterious man from Gladin Quay offers assistance, but Prompto reveals the man's secret identity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so y'all know, I'm participating in Promptis Week! I'm not doing the whole thing, but I'm doing most of it, so check it out! So far I only have a fluff piece out, but it only gets angstier the later in the week ;D

As they came face to face with the man from Galdin Quay, Ignis quickly noticed that Prompto had gone completely stiff.

“What a coincidence!” The “man of no consequence” raised a hand in greeting, turning to face them with a grin.

“I’m not so sure it is,” Gladio growled, taking a warning step forward. 

The man gave him an indulging smile, then turned to look at Prompto, who looked white as a sheet. The man’s eyebrows shot up and together, and his mouth pursed into a confused frown. Then, just as soon as it appeared, it was gone, replaced by an easy smile, a spark of something duplicitous in his eye. 

“Well, I guess the party of three has become a party of four, then? Where did you pick up this little stray?” He reached out towards Prompto.

Ignis darted his eyes to the side and noticed the warning signs right away: the rapid, irregular breathing, the paleness, the swaying, and he thankfully managed to catch Prompto before the blond hit the ground.

“Oh, my…” The man said, watching as Ignis carefully laid Prompto down, “What ever seems to be the matter?” 

“Perhaps it’s the heat. I’ll take him back to the hotel. Noctis, Gladio, entertain our…. _ friend _ , here.” 

After a nod from the others, Ignis carefully scooped Prompto up and made his way back to their hotel room. He ran into Iris on the way, just getting back from the pool.

“What happened? Is he okay? Does he need anything?” She asked, pressing the back of her hand against Prompto’s cheek.

Ignis smiled, “It’s likely this heat. He’s not quite used to it yet. With bed rest and water, I’m sure he’ll make a quick recovery.”

Iris nodded slowly, “Well, if you need any help, you know where I am!,” She called, just before ducking into her room.

Carefully, Ignis laid Prompto on the bed, taking off his shoes, socks, and vest. The room was cool enough that he probably didn’t have to bother with wet rags, but if Prompto didn’t wake up soon, he’d probably have to.

Though, the thing was, Prompto didn’t feel all that hot. Perhaps he was sick? But he didn’t seem feverish, either. With a sigh, Ignis sat back in the armchair and pulled out his phone. He hadn’t gotten very far on this latest news article before a sharp scream made him drop the phone and jump to his feet.

Prompto was sitting up, face pale and chest heaving. He was looking around wildly, as if he couldn’t quite remember where he was.

“Prompto?” Ignis said carefully, taking a few steps closer.

With a speed that  _ probably _ should have broken his neck, Prompto whipped his head to the side, locking feral blue eyes with calm green. “Ignis…” A flash of recognition sparked in the blond’s eyes, and he released his death grip on the sheets. “I… I… what happened? Th-I-” 

Before Prompto could launch into a full-blown panic attack, Ignis sat at the foot of the bed, resting a comforting hand on the blond’s knee. 

“We were headed to the outlook. When we got there, you passed out. Were you feeling hot? Or sick?”

Prompto’s breath hitched in his throat, and he ducked his head. “The Chancellor…” He murmured. “That was the Chancellor.”

Ignis’s eyes widened. The Chancellor of  _ Niflheim _ ? Waltzing about Lucis and helping the king of Lucis? But before he could ask if Prompto was certain, the boy continued.

“He… he helped with making MTs. He oversaw the training and the….and what happened after. Doctor Besithia mentioned once that Chancellor Izunia was the driving force behind the magitek movement. I-I met him. He…” Prompto furrowed his eyebrows, taking deep breaths. “He was very bad. Mean. I’m scared of him. So, so  _ so _ scared. It-”

The door swinging open made Prompto jump, cutting him off mid-sentence. Noctis and Gladio barged through, identical looks of anger on their faces. “That fucking  _ asshole _ !” Gladio thundered.

“Gladio…” Ignis warned, squeezing Prompto’s knee comfortingly, “Inside voice.”

Gladio shot Ignis a withering look but complied. “Yapped on about some nursery rhyme, tried to get us to go to Titan alone to cure Noct’s headache. Douche.”

“But never mind that, we can go later. Prompto, how are you doing? What happened back there?” Noctis asked.

Before Prompto could stammer anything out, Ignis said, “It was nothing to be concerned about. What we  _ should _ be concerned with, however, is the identity of that man.”

“Yeah, he said his name was Ardyn.” Noctis said with a scoff. “Said that’s all we needed.”

“I’m quite sure. However, Prompto here recognized him as Chancellor Ardyn Izunia. Of Niflheim.”  
“The fuck’s a Niff doing helping us?” Gladio asked, then he caught Prompto’s gaze and pinked, “No offense, kid, you’re a cool Niff.”

“I believe what Gladio was so  _ insensitively _ trying to get at was why is someone so high up in Niflheim’s government so obviously helping the Lucian king?” Ignis asked, giving Gladio a pointed glare.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”

“You and me both, Noct. However, if he is offering safe passage through the blockades, is there really much of a choice?”

“Ignis, wha-”

Before Noctis could complete that thought, Ignis raised a hand, “I’m not saying we trust him, or even that we leave right away. But we use him. We have the upper hand here. He doesn’t know that we know he’s the Chancellor. We can find a way to use that to our advantage.”

“So, what do we do then?” Prompto piped up. The Chancellor terrified him more than death or decommissioning did, but he was safe here, surrounded by the others. His new family.

“We wait a few days. Allow things to settle down. Noctis, how are the headaches?”

Noctis made a “so-so” motion with his hand. “It comes in waves. It’s fine now.”

“Good. We have time to plan, to make absolutely sure this is the best course of action. In the meantime, why don’t we take on a few hunts, so we can have extra cash?”

“Oh, speaking of which, there was this one dude, uh, Vyv, I think. Offered 5,000 gil for a few shots of the Disc. Sounds like a fair trade,” Noctis said.

Ignis thought it over quickly, “More than fair. I say it would be a good start. Did he specify where he wanted the pictures taken?”

Noctis shook his head, “Nah, said that was up to our “artistic inspiration”, whatever the fuck that is. 

“Hm, well, that will make it harder. Perhaps we should spend the rest of the day scouting out potential locations?” Ignis suggested.

 

* * *

 

Two hours later, as they were driving through the streets outside of Lestallum, Prompto gripped Ignis’s arm urgently and hissed, “Stop!”

Reflexively, Ignis slammed on the brakes, turning onto the shoulder of the road quickly. “What is it?”

“Oh, uh, don’t you think this would be a good angle to get a picture?”

“It doesn’t look much different from how it’s been looking the past hour, but sure.” Noctis groaned, sliding out of the car and stumbling into a standing position.

“W-well, with the angles of the arches, they’re nice. And the sun is on our side, so the lighting is really good.”

It was certainly not what Ignis was expecting, and he was struck dumb for a few moments. But then Gladio gave a laugh and clapped the blond on the back. “Damn, you sound like a natural-born photographer.”

And just like that, the spell was broken. “Yes, I’m inclined to agree. I would suggest letting Prompto handle the photos from now on, Noct. Perhaps then the photos will be better composed.”

“What, you think my pictures are shit?”

“...I wasn’t going to put it in those terms, but the intent is there.”

Noctis pouted and handed the camera to Prompto, turning to sulk in the car.

Prompto looked concerned, staring at Noctis’ back. “I-I don’t need to take the picture, Noctis can do it, I don’t mind,”

Ignis smiled warmly. Prompto really was too sweet. “Ignore His Majesty’s sulking, he’s just being a brat. If sure you’ll do really well.” 

Prompto flushed a faint pink and ducked his head, but Ignis caught the barest hint of a smile before Prompto turned around to face the Disc. He spent a few minutes fiddling with the camera before bending at an awkward angle and snapping a picture. Then he straightened and turned to Ignis.

“I, uh, I think this should be good.” He handed the camera back to Ignis, who glanced at the picture preview. 

“This is…” Ignis furrowed his brows, trying to come up with the proper way to express how unexpectedly  _ good _ the picture was without inherently insulting Prompto. “This is quite remarkable,” He finally said, “I didn’t know you had it in you, but you seem to be quite the natural.”

Prompto flushed even pinker, freckles nearly disappearing under the furious blush. “Thanks…” He murmured.

“I don’t suppose you’d mind capturing the other photo Vyv wishes? I’m sure he’d be happy to receive such high-quality photos,” Ignis said, handing the camera back to Prompto, who shook his head, “Now, we should really go look for another angle. Keep your eyes sharp.”

 

* * *

 

By the time the sun was getting ready to set, they had a few different photos of the Disc for Vyv and were well on their way back to Lestallum.

“Damn, I guess Specs didn’t lie. These  _ are _ pretty good. Where’d you learn to take such good pictures?”

“I dunno. The arches just looked really pretty from these angles.”

Noctis  _ humph _ ed, then handed the camera back. “Well, keep it up, I’ll see if Vyv needs any more pictures, he pays  _ ridiculously _ well.”

Prompto nodded, smiling down at the pictures he had taken.

“And hey, if you’re that good, might as well take some fun ones just for you.” He added.

“What do you mean, for  _ me _ ?” 

Noctis waved his hand dismissively, “Like, take a picture of a pretty tree, or an animal, or Ignis, or-”

_ “ _ Or you?”

Noctis flushed and cleared his throat. “Well, I mean, if you  _ wanted _ to, okay.”

Ignis glanced back to the road as Prompto readied the camera and took a few pictures of Noctis. 

Then, Prompto twisted back to the front and snapped a few of Ignis. He paused when Ignis made a noise in the back of his throat. “Oh, sorry, do you not want me to take pictures of you, ‘cause I don’t need to, but-”

Ignis gave a soft laugh, “It’s alright,” He took the chance to glance at Prompto. It was totally worth it to see the smile on the boy’s face. 

It was amazing to see how much he had changed from when they first met him. He started conversations, wasn’t scared of them anymore, he had a definite, lively personality that just  _ clicked _ in their group. 

However, Ignis  _ did _ worry about further interactions with the Chancellor. If Prompto was as frightened in the future as he was early that morning, it would be hard to hide  _ or _ explain to the Chancellor what exactly was going on. 

He glanced to the side again, to see Prompto taking pictures of the sunset. Perhaps they could simply tell him to stay with Iris and the others. That way, they could avoid the whole scenario, but then again, it would seem to Prompto like they were ditching him. 

With a sigh, he turned into the parking lot. Prompto was able to make his own decisions, though they would need to discuss it sooner rather than later. So, as Noctis ran off to turn the photos over to Vyv, Ignis pulled Prompto aside.

“Now, to get to our objective, we must make a deal with the Chancellor. That involves getting near him and interacting with him,” Ignis said. 

Prompto paled, but nodded.

“Now, if you don’t wish to be near him, that is completely understandable. I don’t want to force you to do something you’re uncomfortable with. So if you want to stay here with Iris and the others, no one will think any less of you for it.”

Prompto paused. “C-can I think it over?” He asked.

“Of course. I doubt we’ll leave for at least two more days, so take your-”

Almost on cue, Noctis, who was walking towards them with a grin on his face, dropped to his knees with a yelp, clutching his head in his hands. The ground beneath their feet trembled slightly, almost throwing them off balance, but just as quickly as it had come, it left.

However, Noctis did not recover as quickly. He was still curled up on the ground when Gladio rushed to his side.

“Hey, you okay?” The shield asked worriedly after a few seconds of complete silence.

“It….it hurts…” Noctis whimpered, curling even tighter into himself. “ _ Gods _ , it hurts!” 

At a loss for what to do, Gladio scooped the king into his arms and turned to the others. “We should get to the hotel.”

 

* * *

 

According to Noctis, that was the worst headache yet. Not only had it been the most painful, but it lasted the longest, a whole five minutes. Luckily, now he was asleep on one of the beds.

Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto sat on the other bed, talking in low voices.

“I fear we no longer have two days. If the headaches are getting this bad this quickly, we might be forced to leave tomorrow. We need to think of how we can gain the upper hand, since it is so obviously a trap.”

“They must want to take away something that’s more important than keeping Noctis from getting Titan’s favor,” Prompto said. “The only question is what that something could be.”

“Maybe they’ll try to attack us before we get to Titan? Maybe they think we’ll be less vigilant or something? Gladio added.

Ignis hummed. “It’s possible, but they could try to get the jump on us at any time, they don’t need to risk us receiving the power of an Astral.”

“Maybe they want to study an Astral’s power?” Prompto suggested, “See how the power is transferred and try to harness it? That’s what they’ve been doing with most Lucian magic. Maybe they want to use that power to kill the other gods.”

“That… that is very possible,” Ignis said, “So they would study it to find the best way to defeat it. Interesting, but they’ve already killed Shiva, they should have the ability to kill Titan and the others if they wish.”

Prompto thought hard. “Well, then my next thought is they’d try to limit our mobility. A debilitated enemy is easy to catch. A-assuming they want to  _ catch _ Noct instead of kill him.”

“So, what, they’ll cut our legs off?” Gladio asked.

Prompto shrugged. “In battle, yeah, but in general, we use the car to get around a lot. It helps us avoid fights we’d rather not fight. So I would think they would try to take the car, then set up another trap when we try and retrieve it.”

“So we need the car to be moved after we leave to fight the Archean,” Ignis hummed. “How could we do that?” 

“We could drive a different car, a rental. We got enough money from that photography guy.” Gladio shrugged.

“But then we still have to return the rental car.” Ignis pointed out. “I doubt the rental company would accept “Stolen by Niflheim” as an acceptable excuse for not returning it.”

“Then we take a taxi.” 

“And would you have us put an innocent citizen in danger just to avoid losing the Regalia?”

“Then let’s just take fucking  _ chocobos _ , I’m just coming up with ideas, here Ig!” Gladio exploded. 

Ignis paused, thinking the proposition over. “That’s actually not a bad idea. If we have Iris drop us off, we can call chocobos and ride the rest of the way to the Archean.”

“I see how it is, my shit idea turns out being the one we’re going to use.”

Ignis got up with a smile. “Just goes to show, you shouldn’t think too hard. You’ll hurt yourself.” He nimbly dodged back as Gladio sent a half-hearted punch his way.

“Shut up, you.” He growled.

“No, I don’t think I will. I _will_ , however, rent us some chocobos. I believe I saw a kiosk near the outlook.”

 

* * *

 

When Ignis returned to the room, he was met with expectant faces. Disappointed, he shook his head. “Unfortunately, the rentals are closed “until further notice”.” He said.

Gladio furrowed his eyebrows. “What? Why?”

Ignis merely shrugged. “The sign didn’t explain. It simply said that there are currently no rentals allowed.”

Prompto glanced up from the map. “I mean, we can just walk once we get past the blockade, right? It might take a few hours, but it would be worth it if it means we get to keep the car.”

Gladio and Ignis exchanged a look. “It’s certainly not the  _ best _ option, but it’s the best one we have.” Gladio said.

Ignis nodded his agreement, then turned to Prompto. “Does this mean you’ve decided what you want to do?” He asked.

Prompto nodded. “I’m going with you. I-I’m scared, but he can’t- _ won’t _ hurt me any longer. I’ll make sure of it.”

Ignis nodded, ruffling Prompto’s hair. “I’m glad you’ve come to your own decision.” He brushed some hair out of the blond’s face and sighed. “It’s really too bad about the chocobos. I imagine you’d really like them.”


	11. Inner Strength

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unable to prolong the inevitable any longer, Ardyn leads the bros towards the Archean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there are looking to be 2-3 more chapters! I'll try to finish it up quickly so I can get started on my next fic because good god do I have a backlog...

Prompto didn’t sleep much that night. Every time one of the others shifted, or mumbled, or breathed slightly heavily, a thrill of fear shot through his heart and he had to muffle his gasps of panic. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw  _ that man’s _ cruel smile, heard his honeyed laugh, felt the pain of his anger. 

He had been pretty sure the man had known about him and the other humans, his words were too specific to be coincidental.  _ “These MT’s are  _ marvelously _ lifelike. Why, I wouldn’t be surprised to find there are real humans under here!” _ He had been looking at one of the other humans, using a finger to force the MT to lock eyes. 

Prompto shuttered at the memory. If it had been  _ him _ in Jaret’s place, he would have trembled. But Jaret was always the best at pretending to be like the other MT’s. He tried to teach the others breathing techniques, and how to hold your body perfectly still, but Prompto never quite got the hang of it.

He jumped as Gladio flopped onto his side, making the bedsprings groan under his weight. Noctis, who was curled into his side, stirred slightly. Prompto held his breath and tried to stay completely still so he wouldn’t wake the king up, but it seemed luck was not on his side.

Noctis opened his eyes blearily and yawned. He looked ready to turn to his back, but caught sight of Prompto’s open eyes.  _ Shit _ .

“Hey, Prom…” Noct settled onto his back, tucking the blankets up to his chin. “Wha’re you still doin’ up? Wha’ time is it?”

“It’s okay!” Even  _ he _ could tell that tone of voice was too high-pitched at strained to be “okay”. 

With a muffled groan, Noctis sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Somethin’ sounds wrong. Wanna talk?”

Prompto shook his head, turning on his side so Noctis couldn’t see the beginnings of tears in his eyes. He had tried to be brave, tried to pretend that he wasn’t that scared of the Chancellor, but it was all a façade, and it was crumbling down around him.

“Hey, Prompto, I’m starting to get worried,” Noctis laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Talk to me, what’s going on?”

Taking a deep breath, Prompto turned to his other side, facing Noct, but kept his eyes down. “I’m scared…” He admitted, biting his bottom lip to keep it from trembling. “Like, really  _ really _ scared, but I wanna help, but it’s just…. I can’t… I can’t sleep.”

“You’re scared….of that Ardyn dude?”

Prompto nodded, taking in a stuttering breath. “He’s...he’s not a nice man.” 

“Obviously,” Noctis scoffed. “But you realize that none of us would let him hurt you, right?”

“I know!” Prompto said, louder than he meant to, “I  _ know _ , but I’m still so scared I feel like I can’t move, but I  _ should _ be able to, and it  _ sucks _ !” He buried his head in his hands with a groan. “I’m useless…” 

Before Noctis could interject the negative, there was the slight creaking of bedsprings, and Ignis sat up. “Prompto? Noctis? What are you two doing up? Is something the matter?”

Prompto glanced at Noctis, then at Ignis. “I-I’m just… having trouble sleeping.”

Ignis hummed, then got out of bed. “I’ll make some tea for you. One moment.”

Prompto started to insist that it was okay, that Ignis didn’t need to go to all this trouble, but Ignis was already halfway to the kitchenette, so he bit his lip and waited for Ignis to finish.

In the meantime, Noctis helped him into a sitting position, letting him rest his head on the king’s shoulder. Noctis intertwined their hands, keeping his thumb loose to rub comforting circles over the top of Prompto’s hand. “You wanna talk about it? Like, more?” He asked quietly, “It might help to get it all out.”

Prompto shook his head. He couldn’t put into words the horrors he’d seen the Chancellor enact. He worked a lot with the recruits, the ones who hadn’t quite made the full transition to daemonic MT, and he made it his personal mission to break each and every one of them. Prompto’s own person horrors were shoved away in the back of his mind, hoping never to be uncovered.

“Okay, no pressure. It seems like he’s got you really spooked, and I’m sure there’s a good reason, so we’ll have to be on our toes.”

They fell into a casual discussion about King’s Knight when Ignis returned with three cups of tea. He handed one to Prompto, “This is a Valerian and Chamomile blend. It helps me sleep when I’m up late stressing about His Majesty.” 

Prompto accepted it with thanks and sipped it carefully. It was bitter and weird, but not altogether unpleasant. It left a pleasantly warm sensation in the pit of his stomach, and he smiled.

“And Noctis, this is sichuan lovage tea. It should help with the headaches.” 

“What tea do you have, Ignis?” Prompto asked curiously. It smelled really good.

“I have peppermint tea, to help with stress.” He replied, sipping it mildly.

It took Prompto a while to finish the tea, but by the time he did, he was getting sleepy. Ignis and Noctis had already laid down, their breathing deep and even. Prompto set his cup on the nightstand and rested his head on Noctis’ chest, feeling the king’s heartbeat and breathing, letting it relax him slowly.

 

* * *

 

It must have worked, because the next thing he knew, he was waking up to Gladio’s alarm. He was still half on top of Noctis, an arm flung out lazily across his chest, and legs slightly intertwined, but Prompto was able to work himself free quickly enough without waking Noctis.

“Hey kid,” Gladio said, “Wanna go on a quick jog around Lestallum? Might help with nerves.”

That would probably help the sickening heaviness in his gut, if he got outside and moving, so he nodded, slipping into his shoes and running his fingers through his hair.

The heat wasn’t as sweltering at eight in the morning as it was in noon, but Prompto soon found himself huffing and puffing, sweat making his skin feel sticky and gross.

Gladio somehow found a way to make the sweat look  _ good _ on him, the jerk. The sweat glistened as his muscles relaxed and contracted, almost hypnotizing. It was totally unfair.

Somehow, by the time that they had returned to the hotel a half an hour later, Noctis was sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes blearily. 

“Who’re you and what’d you do with Noctis? The king  _ I _ knew never woke up before eleven.” Gladio teased, stripping off his shirt, shoes, and socks.

In lieu of a response, Noctis simply held up his middle finger.

“Headache that bad?” Gladio asked.

Noctis nodded with a groan, “I just want Titan to shut the fuck up. I’m going, he can quit his bitching.”

“I sincerely hope you’ll use more appropriate language while communing with the Archean. I doubt he would be very willing to help if you continually called him a “bitch”,” Ignis pointed out, bringing Noctis another cup of tea.

“I’ll call him what he is, and right now, he’s a bitch.”

Ignis sighed heavily and moved to distribute breakfast. 

Prompto mostly toyed with his food, cutting it into pieces and pushing it around, not doing much more than listening to the conversation. The panic and anxiety was curling up his stomach, making it feel like he was going to throw up. 

Upon seeing Prompto’s mostly full plate,  Ignis gave the blond a disapproving look, but said nothing as he gathered the dishes and started to clean them. “Do we know where to meet with the Chancellor?”

Gladio shrugged. “Said we’d “come across him when the time is right”. Whatever the hell that means.”

“It likely means that he knows we are under time constraints. It’s most probable that he’s waiting in the same place we saw him last. Gladio, did Iris agree to drive us?”

Gladio nodded.

“Good. And Prompto, last chance. Are you sure you want to go along with us? You certainly don’t have to.” He said, turning to face Prompto.

“Yes,” Prompto spoke with more confidence than he really had. He really could do this, he just needed to stick close to the others and look anywhere but at the Chancellor.

“Very well,” Ignis sighed, “Then we should get going. There’s no other reason to linger.”

 

* * *

To be fair, meeting the Chancellor again could have gone  _ worse _ . He didn’t pass out, at least, and he managed to move under his own power, but he could feel his limbs shaking and knew that he was undoubtedly pale.

He was almost certain the Chancellor recognized him. All the MT recruits looked freakishly similar, with only minor details distinguishing one from the others. Prompto knew he looked a little less like the others, with freckles, higher cheekbones, and a thinner frame, but all the differences were so slight, it likely didn’t make a difference.

But, for whatever reason, he never said anything to Prompto, which Prompto was simultaneously relieved and scared of. 

“Allow me to the honor of assigning your driver. I choose…” The man thought for a second, before pointing at Noct. “You.”

Ignis stepped forward. “We already have a chauffeur, but we appreciate the offer.”

The Chancellor looked playfully surprised. “Oh, is that why you have the little girl waiting by the car? Interesting choice.”

“Well, she’s going on a road trip, therefore, she needs the car,” Ignis lied smoothly. “It simply works out better.

“Of course!” Prompto couldn’t bite back a shudder at the Chancellor’s sudden enthusiasm, wishing the ground would just swallow him alive so he wouldn’t have to deal with the whole conversation.

“Well, then, do keep up, but not too closely. I’d hate to get in an accident en route to the Archean.”

With that, the Chancellor swooped away to his car.

Ignis forcefully drew Prompto back towards the Regalia, for which he was grateful, since his legs seemed to stop working after the Chancellor had winked at him.

“Are you quite alright?” Ignis asked, voice low.

“U-uh, y-yeah, I-I-I’m okay...ish…” He stuttered. He took a deep, steadying breath, shoving down the heart-pounding panic. Ardyn was sitting in his car, waiting for the group to get into theirs. He was gone, out of sight, If Prompto faced away from him. He was fine. Totally, completely f ucked fine.

“Good. The worst is over, we needn’t talk to him any more.” Ignis assured, “You did very well.” Ignis slid into the back seat, pulling Prompto into the middle so Noctis could squish him on the other side, “I’m very proud of you.”

Prompto flushed slightly, leaning into Ignis’ warmth. 

“We ready to get this show on the road?” Iris asked, putting the car into drive.

She pulled out after Ardyn, keeping a respectable distance away. After a few hours, however, Ardyn pulled into a gas station just an hour or so from the blockade entrance.

After a cautious glance to the others, Iris pulled in as well, about as far away as she could without it being awkward.

Ardyn waltzed over towards their car as they filed out, and Prompto found himself practically attached to Noctis’ side, as the Chancellor said with a smarmy grin, “What say we call it a night here?”

“What say,” Gladio said pointedly, “We continue on to Cauthess?”

“The Archean’s not  _ going _ anywhere,” Ardyn rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips.

“Neither are we, under  _ your _ stewardship.” Ignis surprised Prompto by saying the words with more bite than expected. Ignis was even planting himself in front of Prompto, blocking Ardyn’s view of him somewhat. While he was grateful, it was pointless. Ardyn already knew, there was no point in trying to hide it.

“So we make camp. With th- with Ardyn,” He said, stepping out of Ignis’ shadow. The action terrified him, it terrified him that he was doing it, but at the same time, he wanted to laugh, because  _ the Chancellor didn’t have that power over him _ .

“Hell no,” Noctis scoffed. He looked ready to try and warp to Titan from there, but before he even had the chance to attempt it, Gladio sighed.

“Might as well get the tent up,” He said.

A look of disgust etched itself across Ardyn’s face, and for a moment, Prompto was 05953234 again, looking up at the face of a man he’d just disappointed one time too many. He took a deep breath, trying to force that image out of his head, trying to listen to the conversation.

“-’m afraid I’ve never really been one for the outdoors,” Ardyn was saying, “I shall foot the bill, so let us stay in the caravan over yonder.”

Prompto caught Noctis’ eye, then looked to Ignis and Gladio. No one was speaking up against it, so Noctis said, “Fine. Whatever. As long as  _ you’re _ paying, whatever.”

Sharing a caravan. With Ardyn. In that enclosed space, with the Chancellor so near, able to do anything he wanted…. Prompto realized he was trembling and tried to stop, to keep from drawing attention to himself, but the thought terrified him, twisting his stomach into painful knots.

“Hey,” A soft voice asked from his side. Iris was there, a gentle hand on Prompto’s arm. If she shifted her hand a few inches up, she would feel his injection port. But she kept it there, gentle and warm. “You okay? You don’t look so good.”

“I-I’m fine, just… just nervous…” He trailed off, watching Noctis begrudgingly follow Ardyn towards the caravan. 

“Don’t worry, it’s pretty natural!” Iris led him forward gently, towards the caravan, towards  _ Ardyn _ .

Prompto nodded dumbly, letting himself be led. It was easier than expected, and he soon found himself facing the steps. He stared at them for a few seconds before wetting his lips and entering the caravan. 

It was somehow  _ worse _ than he expected. He had been inside the caravans before, but never with six people, and  _ never _ with someone who scared him as much as Ardyn did, who filled the area around him with such an aura of  _ fear _ . 

Ardyn met his eyes as he entered and gave him a guileless smile, which Prompto did not return. Instead, he squeezed past Gladio towards the couch, where Noctis was resting. 

“How ya doin’ buddy?” Prompto asked gently, kneeling beside his friend. No better way to get your mind off your own troubles than to try and deal with somebody else’s.

“Fine, I guess. Dunno how we’re all gonna fit in here. ‘S only meant for four. Five can kinda squeeze, I guess.”

“I-I can sleep in the car! It’s really no big deal!” Prompto said, a little too enthusiastically. That was his ticket out. He could sleep in the car, and lock the door, so if Ardyn wanted to get at him, he would have to break the window, which would wake him up, and-

“Yeah, sounds like a good idea. I guess I’ll join you. Seems a shame, though, to have the opportunity to stay in a caravan free of charge and not take advantage of it,” Noctis sighed.

Prompto lowered his voice, leaning in close, “I would do  _ anything _ not to have to sleep within a mile of that man.”

“Anything except stay in Lestallum,” Noctis pointed out.

A warm flush filled Prompto’s cheeks, and he was sure he was practically glowing pink. “I-I mean,  _ yeah _ , b-but, like,-”

Noctis laughed, snaking his arms around Prompto’s shoulders and pulling him into a lazy hug. “C’mere, I was only teasing.”

“Well then get better at it!” Prompto bopped Noctis on the head, trying to corkscrew out of Noctis’ hold, but it suddenly tightened, trapping him close to Noctis. “H-hey! Let  _ go! _ ” He tried to sound angry, but he was laughing too hard. “Noctis, hey!”

All at once, Noctis let go, a mischievous glint in his eye. 

_ Bastard _ , Prompto barely had time to think, before he was careening backwards. He tried to regain his balance, but he slipped. The counter was right there, he was going to smack right into-

A cool, strong arm wrapped around Prompto’s back, steadying before he could hurt himself. He glanced to the side, expecting to see Gladio, and instead locking eyes with Ardyn. That wasn’t Gladio’s hand patting his back, it was Ardyn’s, and Ardyn was giving him a  _ look _ , daring him to say something.

How does one politely tell someone else “fuck off”? He would have to ask Ignis. In the meantime, He stumbled away from Ardyn, stepping behind Noctis, who had jumped off the sofa once he saw Prompto falling.

“Are you quite alright, boy? You look positively  _ shaken _ ,” Ardyn bared his teeth, more than he smiled, and it set something in Prompto on edge. 

“I’m  _ fine _ .” He said, turning to walk back outside. The air was uncomfortably hot and humid, but it felt less stifling than the inside of the caravan. He sat himself on one of the plastic chairs and pillowed his head in his arms, taking deep, purposeful breaths. Ignis had said it would help with anxiety. But Ignis had also said they wouldn’t have to deal with Ardyn after Lestallum, and here they were.

A chair scraped against the asphalt, and Prompto sat bolt upright. Gladio was pulling out a chair next to him, between him and the door to the camper, practically a physical wall. It was comforting to have such a big guy on his side. Prompto scooted closer, leaning a head on Gladio’s shoulder. 

“How ya doin’ kid? Hanging in there?”

Prompto nodded. He was holding up better than he expected, at least. So that was something.

“Good. Iggy and Noct are keeping that creepazoid busy, so you don’t have to worry about that,” Gladio assured him. “There’s not enough room in the caravan, though, so some of us might sleep outside. You’ll definitely be one of them, and whoever else you want.”

Prompto thought it over. Ignis always made him feel comfortable, and Noctis made him feel happy, but what was the point of being happy or comfortable when trying to protect yourself from a monster? Gladio made him feel safe, and he  _ needed _ to feel safe from the Chancellor.

“You, please.” He might have chosen Iris, she looked like she could give even Ignis a run for his money, but figured that might have been taken the wrong way.

“You got it, kid. Any idea where you wanna stake out?”

Prompto shrugged. “I was thinking the car.”

Gladio glanced back at said car thoughtfully. “Y’know, I bet if we folded the front seats down all the way, we could fit an inflatable mattress in there.” He said, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

“Is that okay with Ignis?” Prompto asked.

“Hey, kid, Ignis fucked up with this one. You have him wrapped around your finger. You could probably ask him to shell out the money to stay at the Quayside Cradle, and he’d do it.”

Prompto didn’t know what the “Quayside Cradle” was, or how much it cost, but he  _ did _ know that Ignis hated spending lots of money, and the way Gladio said Quayside Cradle made it sound really expensive. Did he really have that kind of power over Ignis right now? Maybe he could ask Ignis to make that really nice soup. What was it called again? Green Curry? Apparently it was hard to make, but it just tasted  _ so good _ .

Nevertheless, a half an hour later, he and Gladio were cramming a large inflatable mattress into the Regalia. It was loud to lay on, and the mattress didn’t quite make up for the empty spaces between the seats, but it was infinitely better than staying in the caravan.

Once that was done, he and Gladio resumed sitting on the plastic chairs. Gladio had lent Prompto his phone so that Prompto could play King’s Knight. It was a fun game, and challenged his hand-eye coordination. That had always been one of his lowest scores during training, but unlike the training back in Gralea, this was a fun way to make it better.

“Prompto,” Ignis leaned out the door of the caravan, “What do you want for dinner?” He asked.

After a quick glance at Gladio, Prompto said, “Um, can you make that green curry stuff? It’s really good.”

“Of course, I’ll bring it out when I’m finished.” With that, Ignis disappeared back into the caravan.

There were a few beats of silence. “You’re right,” Prompto said in wonder, “He didn’t say anything but ‘yes’.”

“Told ya, kid,” Gladio laughed, “You pretty much control Iggy right now.”

 

* * *

 

Dinner was great, as expected. The rest of their group had migrated outside, but Ardyn, perhaps reading the terrain and all the sharp looks, just  _ daring _ him to make a move, took a seat far away from Prompto. Even so, Prompto doubted Gladio took his eyes off the Chancellor for a second, just waiting for the chance to rip the man’s arm off.

“Why, what a delicious meal. My compliments to the chef,” Ardyn leaned back in his chair, interlocking his fingers behind his head.

“Noted,” Ignis said, gathering the dishes. “Iris, why don’t you come help?”

Iris, who had been sitting in between Ignis and Prompto, got up quickly and gathered the rest of the dishes, following Ignis into the caravan.

“Well,” Ardyn said with a pleased grunt, “I suppose I must go on a walk.” He got to his feet. “Any one of you are welcome to accompany me.” His words were directed at the whole group, but Ardyn only looked at Prompto.

“No, I want to sit,” Prompto said, staring back. He hoped the fear wasn’t visible on his face, he wanted to show Ardyn that he wasn’t scared, even if his legs and arms were shaking.

“Yeah, I’m good here,” Noctis agreed.

“Ah, suit yourselves.”

Once Ardyn was safely out of sight, Prompto let go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding, letting his body fall forward so his head could rest on the table. 

A thin hand rested on his shoulder, Noctis’ hand. “Hey,” the king asked, “How you holding up?”

Not even raising his head, Prompto waved a hand dismissively, “I just wanna get this over with,” He groaned, “Fuck him and his stupid coat.”

Gladio laughed, rubbing Prompto’s hair roughly. When Ignis did it, it was gentle, comforting, relaxing. When Gladio, did it, however, it kinda hurt, but it also made him feel energized, mad, but in a playful way. He knew Gladio did it to show affection. 

“Where is our guest?” Ignis and Iris walked out of the caravan, closing the door behind them. 

“On a walk. Dunno how long, though,” Gladio said.

“Very good. I told Iris of Ardyn’s identity,” Ignis said, “Gladio, you really must be more conscientious of informing your sister of these developments.”

Gladio coughed, looking away from Ignis’ gaze.

A sudden thought rushed through Prompto, and he let out a strangled gasp. If Ignis had told Iris about Ardyn, did he also tell her about  _ him _ ? What he was? She  _ seemed _ like a nice person, but he knew that this information was so so out of left field, he didn’t know how someone would react. Ignis, Gladio, and Noctis had all been a little rough with him at first, after all, and they were incredibly nice right now.  

“Did you-?” Prompto cut off before he said too much, in case Ignis  _ didn’t _ say everything.

Ignis looked at him in surprise, “No, no I didn’t mention you. I figured you might want to do it on your own terms, if at all.”

Prompto looked at Ignis, then at Iris, who looked remarkably  _ not _ confused by their discussion.

“Look,” She said softly, “I can tell something weird’s going on between you and that Ardyn guy. But you don’t have to tell me-”

“I’m an MT.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

He could see the exact moment Iris comprehended what he was saying: she stiffened, eyes going wide, then looked from Gladio to Ignis to Noctis, then to Prompto. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but nothing came out for a few seconds. Finally, she managed to squeak out, “ _ Oh _ .”

Prompto gave a bitter laugh. “Yeah,  _ oh _ . I mean, I’m not, like, not an actual MT. But, like, I was supposed to be.”

“Oh.” Iris said, voice a little softer. “So, that man… you know him?”

Prompto nodded slowly. “He… yeah.” He said. The anxiety churned in his gut and he slid his arms over his stomach, as if that could hold back the nausea. 

“Wow. Well, if he makes a move against you, he’ll get my fist in his face!” Iris said, giving Prompto an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Gladio guffawed, nudging her in the shoulder, “Can you even reach his face? You’re a pip-squ-”

Iris cut Gladio off by literally climbing onto his shoulders, then bopping him lightly on the nose. “You were saying?” She asked innocently, swinging under Gladio's grasp.

The nausea subsided slightly, and Prompto let out a breathy laugh at her antics. “I think he’ll have to get through three others before you, but thanks for the offer.”

“Damn straight he’ll have to get through us,” Noctis huffed, sitting next to Gladio and across from Prompto. He pulled out his phone and tapped at it, not doubt leveling up his King’s Knight character.

They settled into a comfortable silence, as Ignis stood next to and a little behind Prompto, leaning against the caravan, almost like a sentry, and Iris excused herself to take a shower. He could have cried with relief at how everyone was reacting, protecting him from that maniac of a Chancellor. 

So when that man swaggered forward, his thick coat billowing around his figure, Prompto didn’t shrink away, he ducked his head and paid attention to his character in King’s Knight. Gladio was being generous in allowing Prompto free use of his cell phone until they saved up enough money to buy him one.

“Ah, the youth with their noses in their cell phones.” Ardyn sighed, pacing around the front of the caravan. “You know, in  _ my _ youth, no one had cell phones. We all  _ listened _ to each other, made  _ conversation _ .” 

“No one’s stopping you,” Gladio pointed out.

Ardyn raised an eyebrow, locking eyes with Gladio. Quite a feat, as Gladio’s glare seemed like it could cut through solid steel. “Quite true. And, as it so happens, I have quite the tale for you.”

 

* * *

 

To be honest, Prompto wasn’t paying much attention to Ardyn’s story. He didn’t think any of them were, to be honest. Except maybe Ignis, but that’s because Ignis was gathering all information possible to find Ardyn’s weakness. But then he heard the word “Magitek”.

His blood turned to ice as he gripped the phone tighter. 

“And it’s honestly exhausting work, and my dear friend Verstael doesn’t make it very easy for me, even considering I’m the Chancellor, but nevertheless, I understand it’s importance. The Magitek movement is…” Ardyn paused, considering for a second before he moved.

He was in Prompto’s space before Prompto even realized the Chancellor had moved, reaching a hand out towards his chin. Instinctively, he jerked away, almost tumbling out of his chair in his haste to get away. He saw the Chancellor’s lips move, hooked up in a thin smile, but he didn’t hear the words.

His heart was beating through his chest, and it was hard to breathe. 

Then, before anyone had time to throw him back, Ardyn slid back a distance, locking eyes with each of them. “Oh, did I do something wrong? Apologies, it must be cultural differences. We tend to get close to each other in Gralea.” He turned and resumed pacing.

Noctis set his phone down, eyes hard. “You okay?” He asked quietly, casting a cold glance towards Ardyn.

Prompto nodded mutely, turning back to his phone and making himself as small as possible.

“Anyway, I really must be heading off to bed. I’m afraid I can’t quite keep up with you youngsters."

  
No one wished him a good night, or even acknowledged that they heard him speak. 

Once he retreated back into the caravan, Ignis followed behind him, to “make certain he remains appropriate to everyone”, whatever the hell that meant.

Gladio simply nodded and scooted closer to Prompto. “You about ready to turn in, kid? You look ready to drop.”

Prompto nodded slowly. He  _ was _ exhausted. His heart was constantly hammering in his chest, he felt like adrenaline was permanently a part of his bloodstream, and that this roiling anxiety was always going to be with him, and it dragged him down, made him feel tired and heavy, like he was still weighted down by his armor.

“Then let’s hit the sack.”

Since the mattress was already set up, all they had to do was slide into the car and curl up in the blankets. Prompto did his best to position himself towards the side, away from Gladio. Gladio didn’t like being held while asleep, and Prompto tended to do that, even though he tried not to. But that also put him next to the door and window, and he was always certain that when he looked up, he would see Ardyn leering down at him.

After a few minutes of Prompto restlessly tossing and turning, Gladio braced himself on his elbows with a groan. “What’s the matter, kid? Find a position and stay in it,” He said.

“I-I know, I’m sorry, I just-” Prompto bit his lip and tried to decide whether he should lie on one side, and know for certain if Ardyn was watching him or not, or whether he should lie on the other side and never know for sure.

“You just what? Still scared of that trashy asshole?”

Prompto snorted, but still glanced out of the window to make sure Ardyn wasn’t watching them. “I mean, yeah,” He mumbled.

“Then get away from the door.”

Uncertainty, Prompto scooted towards Gladio, trying to maintain a respectful difference, but once Prompto was close enough, Gladio wrapped an arm around his back and drew him so close, Prompto could feel the shield’s heartbeat. 

“You don’t need to be so damn far away. How can I protect you if I can’t reach you?” Gladio sounds teasing, but the words settle deep in Prompto’s bones, relieving some of the stress. He relaxes against Gladio’s touch, and turns so his back is pressed against the shield’s solid chest. 

_ Safe _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pst, check out my [fic recs](https://stuck-in-ffxv-hell.tumblr.com/ficrecs). I basically write what I read, so if you're itching for more fics like mine, check these out!


	12. Power of Astrals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis receives Titan's power, but the ceremony goes awry when one of their own is badly injured in the aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this chapter early because we're winding to a close and I wanna move on. My next fic will be a Prompto torture fic, but don't be surprised if a one-shot or two comes up as well. 
> 
> Thanks to [ellay_gee](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ellay_gee) for story help so I could torture Prompto just a bit more. ^.^

Ignis woke up at his usual time, disentangling himself from Noctis’ clutches. He really wished Prompto had chosen Noctis to sleep with, because Noctis really was too much of a cuddler at night. 

With a sigh, Ignis got to his feet, sliding his glasses up on his nose. The sun was barely even peeking over the horizon, but after several years of waking up with the sun, it was as natural as breathing now. 

He was used to being the first one to wake up in the morning, but as he shuffled into the kitchenette, he noticed the coffeemaker was chugging away, and a mug that was on the counter was missing. He glanced to the bunk beds, noticing immediately that the bottom bunk was empty.

He glanced outside the window suspiciously, hands unclenching around the windowsill when he saw Ardyn sitting on one of the plastic lawn chairs, watching the sun rise. As long as he stayed there, far away from where Prompto and Gladio were staying, Ignis was fine.

After an hour or so, the Chancellor came back in the caravan. “Why, I didn’t expect anyone to still be up. You young ones tend to be quite the night owls.” 

Ignis raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. Instead, he took Ardyn’s mug and washed it out, keeping his eyes on the task, but his other senses on high alert.

By the time he had finished washing up his own mug of coffee, Iris had already woken up and stayed on her bunk bed, flicking through her phone, so he got started on breakfast. Goodness knows Noctis could sleep through a few pots being dragged around.

Ardyn sat back outside, citing a stuffy atmosphere in the caravan. Most likely he simply didn’t want to deal with Ignis’ eyes burning holes into the back of his head.

He allowed himself to relax back into his work, his hands doing the work as his brain wandered. They would have to wake Noctis up earlier than usual so they could get to Titan and back in time before dark, but Noctis was sleeping more restlessly than usual, so he would likely be easier to wake. 

He looked thoughtfully out at the Duscaen Arches, but his gaze was quickly caught by Ardyn, sitting in the plastic chairs. The man had a grip on Prompto’s arm and was pulling him close, whispering something into the blond’s ear. A thin, predatory grin split the Chancellor’s face.

Before Ignis could even move away from the stove, Prompto wrenched his arm away with a series of angry words that Ignis couldn’t make out, then he stomped up the caravan steps, wrenching the door open.

“Are you alright?” Ignis asked softly.

Prompto looked at him, eyes shining with held-back tears, and face near pale as the egg Ignis had been about to crack. “I-I’m fine…” He said. “I’ll  _ be _ fine.  Soon…” He corrected.

“What did he say to you? If you wish to talk about it.”

Prompto took off his glasses and rubbed his face. “H-he asked me if you knew what I was… and, like, what I had done, in Insomnia,”

Ignis blinked. “What you had done in Insomnia? What did you do?”

Prompto looked at a loss. “I-I- Did… didn’t Noctis, like,  _ tell _ you?” 

“Tell us what, Prompto?” Ignis took the pan off the burner to give Prompto his full attention.

He breathed down the thrill of panic that raced up and down his spine when he realized he was going to have to explain that he had been a part of Insomnia’s fall for the second time. He wasn’t scared that Ignis would be mad at him, after all, if Noctis had been levelheaded about it, then Ignis would be too, but it was still hard to get rid of that knee jerk reaction of fear.

“I...I was part of the second invasion force,” He said, doing his best to keep his voice steady but likely failing, “I helped ‘secure the Citadel’. After… after the big battle, I… my platoon was sent to quell any uprisings and ensure the Empire’s reign,” His words were dull and monotone, as if he was reading a script. 

He probably was.

Ignis’s face softened, and he turned back to breakfast. “That changes nothing. Remember, when we first met you, you were actively attempting to kill us,” He said with a faint smile.

Prompto laughed, “Yeah, you got a point there.”

“Do I even  _ want _ to know?” Iris piped up from her bed.

“I mean,” Prompto shrugged, “What is there to explain? I tried to kill them, they adopted me. That’s how it works, right?”

Iris giggled, and even Ignis chuckled a little bit. “Yes,” The advisor hummed, “Certainly not what we expected to happen, but also certainly not the worst thing to occur.”   


 

* * *

 

After a quick breakfast, they headed out on the road again. Ignis made sure to do his best to keep Prompto out of direct line of sight of the Chancellor without being too obvious about it, but there was only so much he could do. Luckily, Prompto had his own defence mechanisms. 

Namely, cleaning his glasses. It was a way for him to look away from people and concentrate on a task that might never be done. Ignis had to admit, when he got anxious, he also found himself tracing the wire of his own frames to give his hands something to do.

Back in the car, they set off to the Meteor and the Archean. He shifted in his seat, trying not to be so obvious about his discomfort with Iris’s… not  _ quite _ defensive driving. It was rather obvious she took after Gladio in that respect. 

“H-hey Iggy?” Prompto asked, “D’you think our glasses can take the heat?”

Ignis paused. “I don’t see why not,” He hummed, “But I’m sure you can keep them here with Iris, if you’re that worried. I  _ did _ bring your contacts, if you wish.”

That hadn’t been the right thing to say. Prompto froze, skin paling visibly, and his quivering was most likely  _ not _ due to that turn Iris took a little too sharply to avoid losing the Chancellor. “I-I’d really rather not,” He choked out.

“Then you shan’t,” Ignis said, “It’s simply for people who dislike the feeling of glasses on their face.”

“I’m still getting used to it,” Prompto admitted, “But I prefer it to those.”

Ignis nodded, patting his knee comfortingly. Obviously, he was still suffering from whatever trauma he had sustained at the Empire’s hand, and, in fact, it was quite idiotic to assume otherwise. While Prompto might seem to be more comfortable with them, there was the slightest chance that it all might be an act and he’s seconds away from a panic attack at any given moment.

A rough transition from asphalt to gravel jolted Ignis out of his thoughts, as did Iris’ chipper, “We’re here!”

“Better not be a setup,” Noct growled.

“Have I given you reason to doubt me?” Ardyn asked innocently

“You don’t exactly inspire  _ confidence _ ,” Prompto said under his breath.

“I apologize, my hearing’s not what it used to be. What did you say?”

“Nothing,” Prompto spat back

Ardyn hummed, then called up towards the parapet of the gate, “Hello! It’s me! Be so kind as to open up!

The five watched, unimpressed, as the gate slid open.

Ardyn, however, didn’t seem to notice their lack of interest, and said grandly, “I may not look like much, but I do have  _ some _ influence. “Aren’t you glad we came together?” The smirk in his voice was evident in his tone. “Your audience with divinity lies ahead.”

Iris put the car into park, and everyone clambered out gratefully, stretching aching limbs and groaning. 

“Fare thee well, young prince!” Adryn said cheerfully, wiggling his fingers in a “good-bye” motion. “And entourage,” He amended, giving Prompto a too-big wink.

He felt Prompto’s fists clench, and drew the blond close to his side as the metal doors hissed shut behind them, leaving them to walk an eerily silent path towards Titan.

“Damn, it’s hot…” Gladio hissed, sliding off his jacket and throwing it over a shoulder. 

“Show-off,” Noctis grumbled.

“You’re just jealous,” Gladio smirked. 

“Am  _ not _ ,” Noctis said, in a tone that meant he most certainly  _ was. _

 

* * *

 

By the time the end of the path was in sight, the heat had turned oppressive, and Prompto had remarked, with a tired sort of humor, that he had run the calculations and come to the conclusion that their clothes would burst into flames at any given moment. But still, they soldiered on. After all, Noctis had a duty to fulfill.

As they drew nearer to the end of the path, Ignis could make out the rough shape of a Royal Tomb.

“Is that what I think it is?” Prompto asked, glancing at Ignis for clarification.

“Didn’t expect a Royal Tomb  _ here _ ,” Ignis hummed, in lieu of an answer. The tomb in question looked a little worse for the wear, as it appeared something, likely the recent quakes, had knocked it off its pedestal. The sword clasped in the king’s hand was rather large, somewhere between Noctis’ Engine Blade and Gladio’s greatsword in size. It was likely older than the other Royal Arms Noctis had accumulated, as this blade appeared to be a two-handed sword that fell out of popularity around the time written word was being developed. There were vague references to the “Lord of the Daemons” wielding one to his death, and that was the main factor for their lack of popularity, but Ignis didn’t quite believe it.

Whatever the  _ actual _ case of the lack of popularity of two-handed swords, it seemed like a very powerful weapon.

Apparently, Gladio shared his sentiments. “Would be a shame not to grab that power, eh, Highness?” Gladio slid back on his shirt and nudged Noctis’ arm. 

“Let’s grab it and go,” Noctis sighed, holding his hand out over the sword and welcoming it into his Armiger with little more than a grunt of surprise. Prompto, however, winced viscerally as the spectral sword slammed into Noctis’ chest. 

Ignis had to admit, it was a little disconcerting how the weapons are introduced into the Armiger, but after three other tombs, he had rather grown accustomed. Prompto, it seemed, had not.

As Noctis turned around to find a new path to the Archean, the ground shifted under their feet. “Here we go again!” Prompto yelped, falling flat on his back. Ignis did his best to keep his balance, but finally he lost the battle with gravity and fell to his hands and knees. It seemed in his best interest to stay there until the shaking had subsided, but it seemed he was not afforded that luxury.

Suddenly, the ground in front of him groaned, buckling under the weight of the boulders that were falling down from the cavern around them. Noctis, who had collapsed to the ground clutching his head, scrambled to his feet and towards safety, but he wasn’t fast enough.

Ignis barely had time to blink in the time that Noctis disappeared over the edge of the cliff, then to notice that Gladio was no longer beside Prompto.

Prompto shot to his feet and started to take off over the edge of the cliff, but Ignis’ hand wrapped around his upper arm, jerking him back. “Let me _go!_ ” Prompto tried to wrench out of Ignis’ grip, but his grip was firm.   
“And just what do you hope to accomplish by throwing yourself over the edge of a cliff?” He asked mildly.

“I-I need to  _ help _ !” 

“I’m sure Gladio did what he could. There was nothing more to be done,”  

Prompto visibly wilted, “I-I know, I’m sorry…” He glanced away from Ignis’ piercing gaze.

“I’m glad,” Ignis said. “Now, are you going to go throwing yourself from high places if I let you go?” He asked with a trace of a smirk on his lips.

Prompto laughed softly, shaking his head. “Nah, I’ll stay here like a good little boy,” He said. 

Ignis nodded, releasing his grip on Prompto’s arm. Immediately, Prompto rushed to the edge of the cliff and poked his head over. “Noct! You okay?”

Ignis quickly joined the blond, though he took a slightly safer position, standing a few feet from the edge. “Thank heavens you’re safe,” He sighed, “Is there a way back up?”

“No, but there’s a path. Gonna see where it leads,” Noctis waved back, voice distant. Ignis could barely make out the words. “You two try to get down.”

“Very well, be careful now,” Ignis warned

“You too!” Noctis called back before disappearing past a rocky outcropping.

“What?” Prompto squeaked, “We’re going  _ where _ ?”

“Come, Prompto,” Ignis lead the blond back down the path, and then they ducked down a side path that Noctis had ignored as they came through the first time.

“D’you think Noct is doing okay?” Prompto asked softly, as Titan’s roar rocked the ground beneath their feet.

Though he was honestly unsure at the moment, Ignis put on his best poker face and nodded. “As I’m sure you’re aware, both he and Gladio are quite capable. I’m confident that they’ll be able to handle whatever Titan throws their way.”

Prompto nodded quickly, wincing as another tremor made him stumble. “I hope,” He said. Then, his entire posture changed. His spine snapped straight, and his face went completely taut, pinched in worry. A moment later, Ignis heard it: the distinct rumbling of a magitek dropship.

“We’re about to have company,” Prompto breathed, pulling his gun from the Armiger. He was getting rather good at that.

“Wait,” Ignis said, pushing Prompto’s hand down so the gun was trained on the ground. “They don’t seem to be interested in us,” He said. 

The dropships set down behind and to the sides of Titan, and MT’s filed out, all green masks and glowing red eyes. But unlike the MT’s they had come across before, each troop carried a large, red-tinged machine that Ignis had never seen before.

He glanced down at Prompto, who had gone completely still again. 

“No…” Prompto breathed.

Ignis furrowed his brows in concern and placed his fingers under Prompto’s chin, drawing the blond’s gaze to meet his. “Prompto, what is the matter?” He asked.

“Th-those are the “God-Killers”,” He said, “That’s what Niflheim used to kill Shiva in Ghorovas Rift.”

Ignis pursed his lips. “Then Niflheim is trying to kill the Archean before Noctis can retrieve his power…” He said thoughtfully. “We must inform him.” He whipped out his phone and dialed Noctis number.

Noctis answered quickly, and relief flooded through him. “You’re safe,” he said, “Good. Listen, Imperial troops are near. You must-” Ignis stopped short at the tone that blared from his phone. 

The call must have got disconnected.

“Come, Prompto,” Ignis said, “We must get to Noctis immediately.”

 

* * *

 

Being in Titan’s shadow was terrifying, to say the least. 

Fighting against him was incredibly worse.

Ignis wouldn’t say he was  _ scared _ , per se, but it was nerve-wracking to know that Noctis, his friend and king, was being tested beside him and there wasn’t very much that he could do to help. Despite the fact that Titan was an  _ actual god _ , part of Ignis wished that Titan would attack all of them, to take the weight of the trial off Noctis.

The other part realized that this was a trial for Noctis, and Noctis alone. There would be a point that Noctis could go that Ignis simply wouldn’t be able to follow, and it seemed this was the start. 

“Why won’t he fucking let up?!” Noctis growled, somehow managing to parry one of Titan’s massive fists. 

“It seems you haven’t yet proven yourself to him,” Ignis said.

“Well, fuck  _ him _ then,” Noctis growled. 

Before Ignis could reply that it was  _ probably _ a bad idea to insult the god that was going to give Noctis his power, Titan swatted him back. Noctis slammed into the ground with a cry and a sickening snapping sound.

Ignis rushed to his side, pressing an elixir into the young king’s hand, then another potion. Noctis heaved out a breath as the gash across his back and shoulder closed. 

“Th-thanks, Specs,” He said, accepting Ignis’ hand to stand back up.

“Perhaps now, you’ll be more careful about disrespecting the gods.”

Noctis grumbled his displeasure, but warped away to feet Titan’s fist halfway. Unfortunately, Titan was an  _ actual god _ and tossed Noctis aside like a ragdoll. 

Ignis sighed and resigned himself to just being a mobile curative depositor for Noctis

 

* * *

 

“Noctis, we’re down to one last potion. We need to have a plan.”

Noctis warped away from Titan’s grabbing fist, regrouping with Prompto and Ignis. “Then what do you  _ suggest _ , Iggy? ‘Cause I’ve got nothing except a metric  _ fuck _ ton of new bumps and bruises.”

“Perhaps we need a little bit of magic?”

Noctis growled. “I’ve been slamming him with as much fire as I  _ could _ . It didn’t do jack shit!”

Ignis sighed. “Highness, perhaps using  _ fire _ isn’t the wisest idea.” He reached into the Armiger and distributed flasks of Blizzaga.

Noctis stared at him in confusion. “Where did  _ those _ come from? I don’t remember making them.”

“Your father suggested I put them in there in case of emergency. I think he had an idea that you would need it.” He readied the flask and turned to Prompto and Gladio. “On my mark,”

All together, Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio lobbed the magic at Titan’s arm, then, Noctis warped to it and smashed it into pieces. 

With an earth-shattering groan, Titan fell onto his stub of an arm. He looked at Noctis intently, eyes narrowing with an emotion that Ignis couldn’t quite pick up on. Then, the ground shook, nearly throwing them off their feet again. 

“What-what is it now?” Noctis yelped, nearly backing into Prompto.

Before anyone else could answer, a wave of gold light washed outwards from Titan. The MT soldiers nearby all shorted out, and the dropships started careening towards the ground.

Well, that took care of the Empire at least.

 

Unfortunately, however, not all of the Empire had been so demobilized.

There was a screeching noise from his right, and a flash of red light. Ignis barely had time to realize that a twitching MT still had control of it’s machine and was aiming at Noctis before Prompto surged forward, knocking Noctis to the side. 

In an instant, a glowing red hook was lodged in the blond’s side, and he screamed, falling to the ground and twitching.

Instinctively, Noctis flung his sword into the trooper’s chest and warped to it, neatly slicing it in two before severing the cable attaching the hook to the machine. Then he warped back to Prompto’s side.

Ignis cracked open their last potion and poured it over the wound, but it didn’t do much to help. 

“Prompto?” Noctis asked, panic creeping at the edge of his voice. “Prompto, you okay, buddy?”

Though the blond’s eyes were barely open, they didn’t move, and he didn’t show any sign of having heard him. In fact, he didn’t even flinch outside of faint shivers from the claw that had dug into his side.

“First, we need to stop the bleeding. Then we can worry about infection.”

Unfortunately, fate did not give them that luxury. Almost exactly as Ignis spoke, the ground underneath them buckled, and magma bubbled up between the cracks. 

Gladio quickly scooped Prompto up, glancing around. “We need to get out of here!” He barked. But before either one of them could make much of a move, they heard the faint humming of a dropship.

“The Empire?” Ignis asked, “ _ Now?” _ Titan’s disappearance into light had seemed to disable all the dropships nearby, but if one had waited outside Titan’s range, then they were in trouble, especially with one of their own down for the count. 

The bay doors peeled open slowly, revealing a familiar figure.

_ Of course _ …

Ardyn Izunia leaned forward. “Fancy meeting  _ you _ here!” He called, “It occurs to me I never formally introduced myself! However, I’d imagine your little blond companion did the work for me, so why don’t we move on? It seems you’re in a spot of trouble.” Ardyn chuckled. “Without your car, it seems unlikely you’ll make it to civilization before your friend there bleeds out. Not to mention it hardly looks safe down there”

Ignis saw where this was going and started working through possibilities, so he had figured out a plan by the time Ardyn called down, “I have medical facilities on board. I’d be willing to share, free of charge, of course, and I guarantee your safe passage.” He paused, waiting for their response. When they were silent for a few seconds, he sighed, “Buried among the rubble, is it?” He asked.

Ignis glanced at Prompto before turning to Noctis. “Dying here is  _ not _ an option. He have no choice, Noct.”

Noctis looked back at him forlornly. “I know,” he said.

 

* * *

 

Noctis hated every fucking thing on this gods-damned dropship. Gladio had gone to take a shower while Ignis worked to arrange food for them. Ardyn had “graciously” allowed them access to all the amenities his dropship had to offer.

But, despite the fact that Noctis wanted nothing more than to collapse on a bed and pass out, he sat by Prompto’s side. 

The blond was still unconscious, but after his wound had been stitched up, his breathing had steadied, and the doctor had claimed that he would be fine in a few months. Noctis huffed. He didn’t plan on waiting that long. Once Ardyn dropped them off, they’d buy a bunch of curatives and he’d be on his feet in no time.

“Hello, Highness,” Ardyn purred from the doorway. 

Noctis whirled, resisting the urge to jump to his feet. “What do  _ you _ want,  _ Ardyn _ ?”

“Merely checking in on your friend,” He said. Then he looked Noctis up and down. “You surely must be tired. Come, there’s a dormitory down the hall, you should rest.”

“No, I want to stay here,” Noctis said carefully. If he  _ hadn’t _ been trained in diplomacy, he probably would have snorted, ‘ _ I don’t  _ trust _ you with him _ ’ and potentially caused an international incident.

Though, now that he thought about it, what was the Empire gonna say? “Oh, the dead Prince insulted our Chancellor”? They had already taken most of Lucis and destroyed Insomnia. Wasn’t like they could do much more. 

Still, Noctis held his tongue. 

Ardyn sighed. “Very well.” With a wave of his hand, he went to walk out of the door.

A sharp, stabbing pain rammed through his skull, and he fell out of the chair with a shout.  _ No! He had done through this with Titan! Why did he still have gods-damned  _ headaches _ and why were they  _ worse _? _

“Dear me, Prince Noctis, what seems to be the matter?” Ardyn’s voice grated his brain into mush.

He tried to respond, but everything was fading away, shifting into a clammy darkness.

Above him, he could barely make out Ardyn’s faint chuckle.

 

* * *

 

Ardyn shook away faint traces of his red crystalline magic. So a surge of Lucian magic  _ had _ worked after all. Good. 

He bent down, easily picking the young king up and depositing him on a cot in the corner and drawing the curtains closed. Then, he locked the door. It wouldn’t do to have the big one or the smart one barge in on him and the pretty little MT.

Whistling a tune, he pulled the leather restraints from where the doctor had mentioned they were kept and fastened them to the MT’s bed. He snatched off the MT’s shirt quickly before securing it’s wrists and ankles. 

He knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep this little anomaly for long, as the prophecy had foretold its importance to the King of Light. But, for the time being, he could have a little fun.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because _some_ one had to explain why the bros had flasks of blizzaga. And it's not because Ignis is a boy scout. Huh.
> 
> Also, Ardyn is a douche.


	13. Dreams and Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ardyn gets some time alone with Prompto and does his best to fuck everything up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! I'm glad you all have enjoyed this fic so much! Every single comment and kudos makes me feel so happy! I'm planning on having a one-shot up this weekend (if I remember, lol), then my next series will start next week!

Prompto groaned and opened his eyes, blinking back the fuzziness in his brain. Everything hurt, everything felt tight and painful and  _ wrong _ . Where… where was he? He tried to sit up, but his wrists were shackled to the bed.

Panic leapt into his throat. This was a nightmare. This  _ had  _ to be a nightmare. 

But that was the sound of a dropship, the familiar beeping noise of Niflheim technology, the  _ smell _ of Magitek Troopers, the worn leather restraints were familiar from years of experimentation. 

No.

No. No no no nonononono _ nonono _ .

He was back. He didn’t know how, but he was back. 

Maybe… maybe he had never left.

“Hello Unit 05953234,” A smooth voice said, “You look different than I remember.” Ardyn waltzed up closer, trailing a finger from Prompto’s knee to his chin.

No. Please, no.

Prompto struggled against his bonds, but a stabbing pain radiated from his side. That...that’s right. He was hurt protecting Noctis. That was real, his memories were  _ real _ . 

Then… then where  _ were _ they? Would they really leave him with this  _ monster _ ? Maybe they got separated. He… he had to hope.

“M-my name is Prompto,” He rasped.

Ardyn looked surprised. “I was unaware that MT units even  _ had _ names.”

“I’m  _ not _ an MT unit,” He said, with more strength than he thought he had. After all, his heart was practically thumping out of his chest, and Ardyn could tell from the rapid beeping of the heart rate monitor. 

“Oh, dear, turning rebellious now, are we? Or have you forgotten you are mine?”

“I’m  _ not _ yours, I’m  _ mine _ ,” He spat.

Ardyn looked sad. “Oh dear, I fear the drugs must have interfered with your brain matrices. Do you even know where you are?”

Panic bubbled up in Prompto’s chest, “I-I’m in Lucis, by the Disc.”

“Oh… oh my,” Ardyn sighed, “It’s worse than I thought.”

Prompto didn’t want him to continue, he just wanted Ardyn to leave and he wanted Ignis and Noctis and Gladio and Iris to be here with him and take off the restraints and he wanted to be  _ free _ and  _ safe _ .

“Unit 05953234, you are in Zegnautus Keep. In Gralea.”

No.

“You were injured during a training accident.”

No. No, no, no.

“I must admit, discovering you were  _ human _ was quite a shock, but the scientists assured me that they knew the whole time and the situation was under control,” Ardyn said. “But you were kept under for some surgery. I’ve heard that they cause vivid hallucinations. Is that true?” 

No, please please  _ please _ , no. Ardyn was lying. He  _ had  _ to be lying. If he wasn’t lying, Prompto wasn’t sure he could deal with it if he was telling the truth.

“Tell me, what exactly did you experience?”

“You-you’re lying.”

“About what?” He asked innocently. “Was your hallucination  _ really _ that vivid? Interesting…” He hummed. “Nevertheless, once the week is over, the doctors say you will be able to wear the armor again, and by the third week, you’ll be able to participate in training again.”

“No,” Prompto hissed.

Ardyn raised an eyebrow. “No? Do you  _ really _ believe you’re able to say no to me?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “You’re programmed to obey. Anything I tell you to do, you have to do.”

“You’re lying,” Prompto said, more to himself than to Ardyn. “You’re a liar.”

“Oh, and now my feelings are hurt,” Ardyn said. Then he shifted forward to lean over Prompto. “And such a shame, Unit 05953234, you have such potential.” Ardyn pressed a hand over the wound in his side, grinning wolfishly. 

Pain lanced up his side, turning fiery and white with agony. It hurt so much, he couldn’t even scream.

Thankfully, Ardyn released the pressure after a few seconds, and Prompto breathed deeply, trying to swallow down the pain.

“Are you sure you want to make me your enemy? What could make you want to do that?” Ardyn purred. Then he peered at Prompto. “Or, should I ask  _ who _ ?” When Prompto didn’t respond, he sighed. “You really don’t want to make me order you, do you? Then tell me what you dreamed about.”

Prompto pursed his lips. The evidence was definitely pointing towards everything being a hallucination. He was in a Niflheim dropship, with Ardyn, and neither Ignis, Noctis, or Gladio here with him. He  _ knew _ they wouldn’t leave him here alone with Ardyn, and he knew that if Noctis had the power of a god on his side, Ardyn probably wouldn’t be able to have killed them. He was a scary man, but probably not  _ that _ strong of one.

So… so if all that was true, then it seemed… he… he wasn’t back.

Because he never left.

 

* * *

 

Prompto didn’t know how long Ardyn had been there, coaxing bits of the dream from him, bit by bit. He didn’t know why he was so recalcitrant, there was no  _ point _ . 

He had hoped it wasn’t a dream, was so  _ sure _ it wasn’t a dream, but… but obviously it  _ had _ to be. 

“And the prince just  _ accepted _ you, just like that?” Ardyn asked in mock disbelief, “Really, Unit 05953234, I had no idea you were this prone to flights of fancy. We must work to get that programmed out of you.”

Numbly, Prompto nodded. “Y-yes, sir.”

“Anyway, do continue, you were talking about the nickname they gave you?”

“Freckles. ‘Cause I have freckles.”

“Aw, how cute,” Ardyn said, tracing his finger down Prom-05953234’s cheek. He wasn’t Prompto anymore, he was 05953234. Always had been. “So how did you gain their trust?” Ardyn asked, “Might be useful in case we need a spy.”

05953234’s heart hammered in his chest. He… he didn’t want to do that. Even though he never  _ met _ them, they were so nice to him, they had been a part of the best dream he could remember. He didn’t want to betray that kindness, even if it had never happened in real life.

But he didn’t really have a choice. He was an MT unit.

So 05953234 explained everything as concisely as he could, trying to keep his voice from breaking. When he finished, he could feel his eyes burning, tears threatening to spill over 

“Very interesting, 05953234,” Ardyn said, stepping close to his bed, “I will be mentioning your information to the Emperor. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a promotion in it for you,” He said with a grin. Then his fingers found the wound on his side and  _ pressed _ , hard.

This time, Prompto managed to find his voice, and let out a bloodcurdling scream before the darkness took him.

 

* * *

 

Ignis heard the scream from down the hall. His heart hammered out of his chest, and he was half-tempted to summon his daggers, but the thought of having to  _ fight _ his way to where the scream was coming from made him think twice.

Instead, he took the pan off the burner and dashed towards where the sound was coming from, the medical room where Prompto and Noctis were staying. He barged through the door to see Ardyn lounged in a chair against the far wall. Prompto was laying in the bed like he had been before, and Noctis… Noctis was nowhere to be seen.

“What happened?” Ignis demanded, raising an eyebrow. “Where is Noctis? And… is Prompto being restrained? What is the meaning of all that?”

Ardyn raised his hand in mock surrender. “Dear, me, Advisor, Are you accusing me of being an enemy? How  _ bold _ of you. You precious prince is resting in the corner,” He said, pointing towards where a bed was curtained off, “And the blond tried to claw his face off. So I figured the restraints were necessary to his health.”

Ignis didn’t trust a word out of the Chancellor’s mouth, but he really had no choice. Ardyn  _ had _ saved Prompto’s life, and probably all of theirs as well. “Thank you for your assistance,” He gritted out. “I am here now, though, so you needn’t worry yourself over our problems.”

Ardyn sighed, getting to his feet slowly. “Very well. We should be landing within the hour, but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”  
Ignis didn’t relax until Ardyn had closed the door behind him. He first undid the restraints around Prompto’s arms and legs. Even if he _was_ scratching his face off, right now, it’d probably be worse if he woke up restrained in a Nif ship. Once that was done, he ripped open the curtain in the corner.

Noctis was there, curled up on his side, breathing deeply.

“Highness, wake up,” Ignis said harshly, patting Noctis’ cheek hard enough that it could probably be considered slapping.

With a groan, Noctis rolled onto his back, peeling his eyes open with what looked like great effort. “Ugh, wha’ time’s it, Ig?” He grumbled.

“Highness, get up,” He said. “What on Earth possessed you to sleep at a time like this?” 

Noctis looked up at him in confusion, then sat up. “I… I was sleeping?” He said.

Worry twisted Ignis’ gut. “Yes, you don’t remember falling asleep?”

“I-I got a headache…” Noctis said, furrowing his eyebrows, “Like, Titan-level. I… I think I passed out. I was on the ground, and I passed out. I remember that now.”

“Another headache?” Ignis asked, eyebrows flying into his hairline. “ _ After _ you gained Titan’s favor? Interesting…” He hummed. “Perhaps Luna has awakened another Astral?”

Noctis groaned and flopped onto his back, tossing an arm over his eyes. “Hopefully  _ this _ one is less of a  _ bitch _ than Titan was.

“Noctis,” Ignis sighed. “For the Chosen King who fights alongside the Astrals, you are a sacrilegious heathen sometimes,”

“And the Astrals are bitches sometimes,” Noctis huffed.

Realizing that nothing more productive would come from talking with Noctis, Ignis set himself down in the chair by Prompto’s side and brushing the fair hair out of the blond’s face. 

 

* * *

 

True to Ardyn’s word, the dropship landed just outside the Malacchi Hills, within easy walking distance of Wiz’s Chocobo Post. Gladio took charge of holding Prompto as they hiked the half-mile to the outpost.

Surprisingly, there were no chocobos out and about, but Wiz was more than accommodating when it came to lodgings. He insisted that Prompto stay in his own bed until his wound had healed.

Luckily, they had enough money for more potions and the wound was quickly healed. Still, Prompto didn’t regain consciousness.

“It’s quite alright, boys,” Wiz assured them, “It’s no trouble to me.”

“Still, there must be  _ something _ we can do?” Noctis asked, “Some pests you need us to take care of? We can do a hunt or two for free, if you’d like?”

Wiz paused a moment. “If you’re confident in your abilities, there’s a behemoth terrorizing the wild chocobos around here. Can’t let them out of their pens ‘cause of it.”

Noctis agreed instantly, much to Ignis’ chagrin.

“We’ll do our best,” Ignis amended quickly. Then, turning to Noctis, he said, “Behemoths are fierce creatures. It’s unlikely to be an easy fight.”

“Iggy, we just survived fighting against a  _ god _ . I’m pretty sure a little behemoth isn’t going to be that big of a deal.”

They were all going to die.

 

* * *

 

Miraculously, they did  _ not _ die. Noctis used a fira spell to detonate abandoned oil drums that littered the behemoth’s den. That, combined with the fact that its right side was significantly weaker than its right, gave them the advantage needed to finally kill it.

Gladio collected some meat from the downed behemoth as proof of their success, and followed Noctis back to the chocobo post. 

Wiz lathered them with thanks as he opened the gates of the barn. Dozens of chocobos flooded out, followed by a train of tiny little chocochicks, attempting to keep pace with their parents. 

With a laugh, Noctis snatched up a little chick and patted its head gently. “Who’s a little cutie?” He cooed. The chocochick squawked at him angrily, attempting to flutter out of his grip. Noctis quickly set the chick down before it tried to peck his eyes out and backed away a few steps.

“Okay, that’s done. We should probably let Iris know where we are,” Noctis suggested.

 

* * *

 

A couple hours later, a familiar car pulled up before Iris jumped out, locking it behind her. She barreled forward, practically launching herself into her big brother’s arms with a cry of, “Gladdy!”

Gladio barely had enough to brace himself, but caught her easily. “Iris, you okay?”

Iris nodded her head slowly, tightening her grip around Gladio’s shoulders. “It-the Empire tried to kill Jared and Talcott,” She said. “I-I overheard some soldiers talking about it and warned them, but… but I haven’t heard anything back. I’m worried, Gladdy,” She looked up at her brother, eyes shining with held-back tears.

A stunned silence fell over the group. Ignis quickly stepped forward. “We need to wait for Prompto to recover. Once he’s ready, we can make our way back to Lestallum, and hopefully Jared and Talcott will have called us back by then.”

Iris took a deep breath, and pushed Gladio away, landing on her feet lightly. “Okay. Okay, I understand.” Then her eyes widened. “Is Prompto okay? What happened?”

“He took a hit for Noct. He should be fine. He just needs rest,” Gladio explained.

 

* * *

 

He was so warm. Why was he so warm? Did he have a fever?

05953234 opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling. 

Instead of a metal ceiling like he expected, this ceiling was like that of the hotels they had stayed at- no, no, he hadn’t done that, it was all in his dreams. Was… was he dreaming again?

“Hey, Prom, you up?” A voice asked from his side.

What?

05953234 whirled his head to the side, ignoring the waves of dizziness that threatened to drag him under. “N-Noct?” He stammered.

Sitting there like nothing was the matter, was Noctis. 

“Hey, dude, you feeling alright?” That voice was Noctis’, the awkward mannerisms were his, the way he batted a strand of hair out of his face: all of it was Noctis’. Even through his fuzzy vision, he could tell that it was Noctis. Was he back in the dream?

Part of him wanted to stay in this dream, to forget where he  _ really _ was, but that would just make it worse when he woke up. Maybe he could just die right now. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about anything at all.

Instead, 05953234 blinked slowly and turned to look back at the ceiling. Maybe if he just ignored it all, the dream would fade away, and he wouldn’t think of it anymore. It couldn’t hurt him anymore.

“Prompto, what’s wrong?” Noctis’ voice was tinged with panic, and it made his heart curl. He was using 05953234’s  _ other _ name, and it was so casual and nice, that it physically hurt to listen to.

Blinking back tears from his eyes, 05953234 clapped his hands over his ears and curled up on his side, away from Noctis. “Stop! Just…. Leave me alone!” He yelled. 

He could hear Noctis’ voice, muffled through his hands, but couldn’t make out what he was saying. He sounded upset.

Good.

Then, Noctis left him alone, and he uncurled. He… he had to wake up. How could he wake up? Would pinching himself work? Gladio had mentioned that before. 

So he grabbed the fleshy bit of his skin, in the crook of his elbow, and pinched  _ hard _ . He didn’t wake up. Why didn’t he wake up? He pinched again and again and again, pinching so hard that he bled, but it still didn’t work. 

Then he remembered the last time he had woken up was when he had been badly injured. Not just pinches, but missing a piece of his side. He… he could do that. In this dream world, he could summon weapons at will. He just needed his gun…

Its familiar weight rested in his hand, and he clenched his fingers around it. He could shoot himself in the leg. That would be easy to hit, and if the bullet went deep enough, it’d likely be painful enough. He hoped. If not, then he’d just have to shoot himself elsewhere. The stomach would be extraordinarily painful. If his leg didn’t work, his stomach would  _ have  _ to, assuming pain brought him back to the real world.

He had just flicked off the safety when the door to his room opened and a fuzzy blur h recognized as Ignis stepped through. He saw 05953234 levelling a gun at his own leg and stopped short. “...Prompto?” He asked carefully, “Prompto, what’s going on?”

“Please, stop calling me that,” 05953234 whispered. It hurt too much to hear that kindness on his friends’ lips. He just wanted to go back and forget this ever happened, forget about this dream world and go back to being oblivious about how comfortable  _ beds _ were, how soft  _ arms _ could be, how kind  _ words _ could be.

“Okay. Okay, what would you like to be called?” Ignis said softly, closing the door behind him.

“My designation is Unit 05953234. I need to go back, Ignis,” He said.

“Back where?” Ignis asked softly.

No, Ignis’ voice was too soft, too kind. His heart ached to stay, but he  _ knew _ that he just had to leave. “I need to wake up.”

“P-You’re not asleep. You’re awake. This is real,” Ignis stepped closer, carefully. 

05953234 dropped his gaze dully. He just had to squeeze his trigger finger. Just shoot his leg, and he’d be back.

“Please, look at me,” Ignis pleaded.

He didn’t want to. He  _ knew _ that if he met Ignis’ eyes, he wouldn’t want to leave this place, and he  _ had _ to. He only had a week until he would be back in his armor, and in less than a month, he would be training again. He couldn’t  _ afford _ to stay here.

But by the time he had made the move to shoot, Ignis had closed the distance between them and shoved his gun into the air just as it fired.

“Okay, okay, 05953234, was it?”

He nodded.

“Okay, can you tell me why exactly you did-”

“Prompto!” Noctis slammed open the door, stopping short when he saw Ignis redirecting Prompto’s gun. “H-hey, wh-what’s going on?”

“Highness, step outside and close the door. I’ll talk with him, don’t worry,” Ignis said.

Face contorted with worry, Noctis obeyed. 

“Ignis, please, I just want to go back,” 05953234 said, “I can’t stay here, and I want to get it over with.”

“But you  _ can _ stay here. Trust me, whatever the Chancellor told you, he was lying. This is not a dream.”

05953234’s breath hitched in his throat. He wanted to believe him, wanted to  _ live _ there. But he  _ couldn’t _ let himself be tempted, he couldn’t…

“What can we do to convince you that we’re real?”

“You can’t,” 05953234 said. “I-I’ve only gone back when I was hurt, so I need to hurt myself to go back.”  
“You’ve never gone back, I promise,” Ignis said levelly. “What happened to make you think you were back?”

He shouldn’t respond. If he responded, it was like accepting this dream as reality, and he really shouldn’t hurt himself like that. But even if it  _ was _ a dream, he couldn’t say no to Ignis. “Th-the Chancellor. I was in a training accident in Gralea. This is all a hallucination caused by the drugs. None of it is real.”

Ignis swore, “I promise you, the Chancellor was lying. You were never in Gralea. You were injured protecting Noctis from a rogue MT. We were forced to accept a ride in his drop ship. He managed to separate us, and I’m guessing that was when he told you all of that.”

05953234 looked at Ignis. It made sense, as much as he didn’t want to think about it, it made sense. 

“I promise, none of this is a dream. You don’t have to believe me right away, I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t. But everyone around here cares about you. We’ll give you the time necessary to come to your own conclusion. Are you okay with that?”

Slowly, 05953234 nodded. Even if this all really was a dream, he might as well enjoy it before it all slipped away for good, right?

 

* * *

 

As Ignis had predicted, 059532- no, he was  _ Prompto _ here, he really enjoyed the chocobos. They were fluffy and their coos were relaxing. He practically drowned himself in their downy feathers as Gladio, Iris, Ignis and Noctis discussed their next move. They had invited him into the conversation, but he wanted to enjoy the “chocochicks” for as long as he could before they had to leave.

After a while, after final preparations, Ignis finally moved next to Prompto, crouching down beside him. “You realize,” Ignis said carefully, “You need not stay with us. You are free to do with your time whatever you wish. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m sure you’ll find a good place for yourself in Lestallum, if you so choose.”

Prompto paused, thinking the proposition over. If he stayed in Lestallum, he wouldn’t have to worry about getting too attached again. But, as he looked over his friends, he realized that it was too late. So he shook his head, hugging a bundle of yellow fluff close to his chest. 

“No,” he said, petting the demanding chocochick, “I… I want to stay with you.”

“We’re certain to face more of the Empire, or perhaps even the Chancellor.”  
Prompto paled, but nodded. If it was all a dream, it didn’t really matter what he did, right? So he might as well do whatever would make them like him. He pushed his glasses up his nose, jolting the chocochick from it’s perch in his arms. “I-I’ll help you kick all their asses,” He said with a forced grin. He just hoped that pretending like everything was back to normal would make it so.

Gladio gave a short chuckle and clapped him on the back, as Ignis adjusted his own glasses. “That’s what we like to hear.” He said.

Prompto smiled. Yeah, he could live in this dream world for just a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this might come across as a little incomplete. Like, Prompto hasn't accepted that this is real life (and before you ask, yes it is). That's because A: Ardyn was a bigger douchebag than anticipated, and B: Because I'm planning a follow-up piece at a later date. Don't have much planned right now, so it probably won't happen for a while.
> 
> Visit my [Tumblr](https://stuck-in-ffxv-hell.tumblr.com/).


End file.
